


Liberty's Angels

by indimitable, PaperThinRevolutionary (SingFortissimo)



Series: Pursuit of Happiness [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, F/F, F/M, M/M, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:57:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 56,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8164336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indimitable/pseuds/indimitable, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingFortissimo/pseuds/PaperThinRevolutionary
Summary: The underbelly of New York City was much worse than anyone truly gave it credit for, and the leading force in every dark aspect of it was Angelica Schuyler, head of the Schuyler gang and owner of nightclub Liberty’s Angels. She’s strong-willed and controlling, always ready for a challenge, until her operation starts to crumble…





	1. Morons and More Blood

Angelica Schuyler propped her feet up on her desk, admiring her strappy red heels as she tried to pretend she cared about what the man she was on the phone with was talking about.

“I really think Liberty’s Angels could benefit from a partnership with my corporation,” he (how had she already forgotten his name? She was fairly sure it was a middle-aged white man name... maybe Craig? Richard? Asshat McDouchebag?) was saying. “We’ve pulled several clubs from the brink of collapse, and completely reinvented their looks to draw in even more profit. We’d even let you keep a position on the board supervising your club.” Angelica scoffed, barely remembering to cover the phone’s speakers first. Was he serious? Liberty’s Angels generated the most revenue of any club in New York City, and that was even before she added in the profits from their... side ventures.

“I apologize for the confusion, but Liberty’s Angels is in no danger of collapsing, nor going bankrupt,” Angelica informed the moron who was still trying to convince her otherwise. “And while I appreciate your offer to give me a little bit of input on the club I have been the CEO here for three years, I doubt your help will be necessary. Have a good day, and please don’t contact me again.” She pulled her phone away from her ear and hung up on him before dropping her phone onto her desk and glaring at it.

“Who was that poor soul?” John asked, startling Angelica. She pulled her feet down and her hand twitched towards the gun under her chair for a moment before she realized it was just her right-hand man, and she relaxed. “Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you,” John apologized, a smile stretching across his freckled cheeks. He was leaning in her doorway, but came into her office as soon as she waved him in. 

“That was...” Angelica trailed off, realizing she still hadn’t remembered his name. “Some guy who thought he could run Liberty’s Angels better than me, I guess.” She grimaced at her phone. “Just because I’m the only woman capable of handling a club, they all assume I need plenty of help from men.”

“What do you think they’d say if they knew you ran a crime ring out of said club?” John asked. 

“Probably that only men should be in charge of that, too,” Angelica muttered. 

“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t yell at him more,” John admitted, fiddling with one of the paperweights on her desk.

Angelica shrugged, clicking her email open to scan through it. It was mostly just bills and invoices that had gone to her instead of Alex, spam she could send to Peggy for kicks, requests for hits that she could send on to John, or the occasional email about club business that Eliza had copied her on. All in all, not much that she really needed to focus on.

Angelica sighed and closed her email, swiveling her chair to face John head-on. “So, what’s up?” She asked him with a raised eyebrow. “I thought you were going to be out of the office today to help train Peggy?”

“Nah, I gave Laf a name and address and he and Peggy took off before I could even tell them that it was just a surveillance mission,” John rolled his eyes. Angelica glared at him, not liking the sound of her employees possibly being compromised, and he rushed to reassure her. “I called them and gave them the details once they were on their way, and they’re nearly done with it already,” John told her. “They are headed out afterwards to get rid of someone who’s been poking around us for a bit too long, but based on Herc’s intel that shouldn’t take long.” Angelica nodded, mollified, and drained the last of her coffee. “Want another cup?” John offered, and Angelica eyed him suspiciously. Normally, he didn’t offer to fetch her coffee unless he was in the doghouse, or knew he would be soon.

“What do you want, John?” She frowned, holding her cup close. John kept his face mostly blank, but his nose twitched in the way she knew meant he was withholding either a sneeze or a lie. She narrowed her eyes, and John groaned.

“It’s about André,” he informed her, his normally cheerful eyes suddenly boring a hole in her floor. Angelica resisted the urge to swear, instead gesturing for her second-in-command to continue. He’d been hell-bent on convincing her that John André was up to something for weeks now, and it was starting to grate on her nerves. But she’d learned long ago that it was better to let John talk before shutting him down (at least, if she liked her office furniture the way it was. John had a tendency to be a little shit when he got ignored). 

“I just- I don’t trust him, Angie,” John told her. Angelica tried not to roll her eyes, hoping against hope that John had something new to bring to the conversation rather than repeating the same grasping reasons he’d been trying out on her for weeks. “This morning, I saw him talking to Arnold about shipments,” John hissed, darting a glance over his shoulder at her open door. Angelica hit one of the buttons under her desk, and her office door swung shut automatically. “Thanks,” John muttered.

“Why do you find it suspicious for André to talk to Arnold about shipments?” Angelica asked, tapping her nails against her keyboard absentmindedly. “Arnold is in charge of shipments, and André helps him with them when it’s necessary. Are you saying that you don’t trust Arnold?”

“Maybe?” John shrugged, and Angelica groaned. “I don’t know, Ang. Something just rubs me the wrong way about those two, okay? Especially André. When they saw me coming, they started pretending they’d been talking about the damn Knicks game. Neither of them even follow baseball!”

“We handle sensitive information for a living,” Angelica reminded John. “How many times have I told you to shut up about a mission or a hit, because we didn’t want more people knowing about it than we needed? The more people that know important details, the more things that can go wrong.”

“Yeah, I know,” John grumbled. “But there’s just something off about them, okay? I have a gut feeling about them.”

“I think you’re just hungry,” Angelica snorted. “It’s past dinnertime.” John glanced at the clock behind her, then flushed as he realized she was probably right. “Besides, Arnold’s worked with Washington for as long as Washington was in the business, and he brought André on board around the time I took over from Washington. They’ve been around for a while, and they’ve certainly proved themselves to me, if not to all of us.” John opened his mouth to keep arguing, but Angelica cut him off with a stern look. “I don’t want to hear it, okay? If you have a better argument, you can come back later, but I need to have the hourly check-ins with everyone in the field right now, and I want to talk to Maria too.” 

John didn’t look like he was done arguing by a long shot, but he nodded, recognizing on her face that Angelica was done with the conversation for now. He turned to leave, but the door swung open before he could, revealing Peggy and Laf. “Thanks for knocking,” Angelica sighed, noting that they were both completely covered in blood.

“Hey, sis,” Peggy grinned, flipping her braid over her shoulder and sending a spray of blood across Angelica’s office door in the process.

“Long day?” Angelica raised an eyebrow, shooting off a quick text to Alex to ask him to send a cleaner down to her. He responded quickly with an ‘again??’ and a frowning emoji, but told her someone would be there in ten minutes, much to her relief.

“More like a fun day,” Peggy smirked, bumping fists with Laf as even more blood dripped onto Angie’s floors. “We got to go people-watching and figure out the best ways to kill them, and we busted up a drug deal with those fake badges from Jefferson,” she said proudly. “And then we got to take someone out, but there ended up being a lot more people than Herc said there would be so it got kinda messy.”

John mouthed the word “kinda” across the room at Angelica incredulously, and she rolled her eyes affectionately at him. “Go clean up, Pegs,” she ordered. “Laf, I want you to come talk to me in a bit once you’re clean, but I’ll need at least an hour. No one bugs me until that hour is up, got it?” The other three nodded, and Peggy blew her older sister a kiss before twirling out of the office in a familiar whirl of combat boots, blood, and citrusy perfume, John and Laf trailing the younger girl.

Angelica picked up her phone to call Maria and check in, pulling up her calendar as she did so. It was time to put someone in charge of watching Arnold and André when they went out on business. Sure, she trusted them... but she also trusted John. And she couldn’t afford for him to be right about this.


	2. Totally Fucked

“Let me guess,” Lafayette began without any hesitation, dragging John along with him as he stopped to pick up a clean suit from the closet and go into the bathroom to clean up. “It is _him_ again, is it not?” He asked, a knowing look in his eyes. 

John feigned innocence--maybe ignorance, they looked the same on him, at least to Laf--and bit his lip. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” He insisted softly and shuffled his feet. The second the door was shut completely behind them, he laid into it, though. No hesitation. “Yes, it’s _him_ again, Lafayette, he’s up to something. He _has to be_.” 

“And Angelica is not hearing what you are telling her?” He raised a brow. 

“Of course not.” John huffed, shoulders slumping in defeat. “She never does, Laf. You know that. You know that just as well as anyone here. She doesn’t listen. She _trusts him._ Something is wrong. He’s up to something, he has to be up to something.” John insisted, face scrunched up in discontent. “Anyway. Not important right now.” He shook off the feeling of disgust settling heavily in his stomach and turned back to Lafayette, who was busy washing the blood from his skin still. John’s eyes fell to the water running light red into the sink, then sighed. “Work..?”

“Turned into a bloodbath, oui.” He sighed and washed his face next, blotting it dry with a paper towel before he began to strip down to his skivvies, John not even caring, maybe he didn’t even notice. They had been through enough together that the near nudity didn’t bother him anymore. Laf started to wash up whatever may have been left. “Could you make sure there is nothing on the back of my neck, mon coeur?” He requested, handing him a damp paper towel. 

It was amazing how many paper towels they could go through in a month. 

John took it and lifted his curls, still immaculate somehow, and wiped down his skin just to be sure. Laf thanked him and turned around to kiss his cheeks. “Merci,” he said gently, then started to dress himself again, leaving his dirty clothing discarded on the bathroom floor in favor of the clean suit hanging on the mirror. “But, yes. Today was… Not the easiest. We have certainly had better runs. It was supposed to be surveillance, I am sure Angie has told you.”

“Of course.”

“And it ended up, well…” Laf trailed off and John gestured to the clothing scattering the ground. 

“Not surveillance.”

“Oui.” He gave a small smile, and John reached over to straighten his tie out for him. “Merci. We trailed the man as far as we were supposed to, but when we were about to leave, we heard, well… It was not pretty. We caught them dealing something, with one of Jefferson’s undercovers, and the man was about to turn and kill him, so…” 

“Peggy got some experience under her belt.” John finished for him. 

Lafayette nodded and gave a real smile at that, his eyes glimmering. “Exactly. She did handle it quite well, even when the man had his reinforcements coming out. She is like a little ball of lightning. I have never seen someone so quick on their feet before.” 

“Angie will be proud when you tell her that.” 

“Oui, I hope so.” Laf grinned back and bumped his hips against John’s gently. “Let’s go back to your desk. It is stuffing in here.”

“Stuffy, Laf.” He corrected with a small chuckle, then held the door open for him, watching his lanky figure as he strode out and lounged carelessly atop John’s desk. As usual. The man was like a cat. John walked out in his own time, stretching his arms above his head and yawning a bit, stopping to refill his coffee before he joined Laf. He nudged Laf out of the way just enough to get access to his mouse and keyboard again, then started flipping through his email, organizing through everything based on the pre-established keywords. Dances, ensembles, chorus lines, none of them meant what they should, but John understood their key better than he understood his native tongue. 

Laf peered at the computer and yawned a little. “All of this, it is gibberish. How do you understand it, it makes no sense to me.” He whined. 

“I’ve been doing this for years, Lafayette. You know that. Ssh. I need to focus.” 

“No, you need to entertain me. I have no more work until tomorrow, and even then we did most of that today.” He whined openly and batted at John’s ponytail in an attempt to get John to focus on him rather than the computer screen. 

“Okay, alright, fine.” John huffed a little and swatted his hands away, minimizing the emails before he turned to glance him up and down. “We can talk if you stop laying on my desk like you’re in the _Titanic_.” He teased, prodding at Laf until he sat up with a louder whine, but a smile still stayed stretched over his lips. 

“Alright, alright. That, I will do. Just for you, my friend.” He winked and grinned, swinging his legs a bit as he looked Laf over. Laf couldn’t help but do the same to him, eyes going up and down his torso as his lips curled into a smirk. He had plenty of positive memories with that body, but for the time being he shook the thoughts away in favor of batting at his hair again. “Angie has told me of your concerns. What makes you think any of this?” 

John raised one of his brows before his lips drew together in a tight line and he sighed. “I don’t know, Laf, I really don’t. It’s just… A bad feeling. Looming. Tight in my stomach, you know? Like… Something here is hard to swallow, but I don’t know what it is or what about it. But something is wrong.” His voice had fallen to nearly a whisper, and his eyes were downcast again. Laf could tell something more than what he wanted to admit. 

Laf sighed softly and rubbed his shoulder. “Oui, I understand. Perhaps we could talk about this more together later, maybe I can help you think of a way to get past this?” He offered, just as he heard someone begin to walk in. 

Heavy gait, long stride. Confident. _Too_ confident. A slight click in the heel of the boot. 

He made sure to keep John’s eyes away, on him, as he saw Andre enter the room. John’s eyes remained on Lafayette until he heard Alex speak, greeting the other man. He glanced at his dimmed computer monitor, catching their reflections in it and going entirely rigid. 

Lafayette did as well. 

“Laurens, mon coeur, look at me. Do not pay them any attention, oui? It is not important what they do.” He insisted gently, hands resting respectively on Laf’s shoulders and squeezing again, just to try and grab his attention one more time. “Please?” 

This method worked only for a few more moments, then Laf noticed the… Well. It wasn’t exactly the ideal way to greet a co-worker. Andre had bent over just a little behind Alex, nosing at his neck and smiling against the skin before… 

Fuck. 

He moved just enough that Laf couldn’t see what was happening, but he saw Alex’s cheeks flush, his eyes glaze over, and his lips part with a gasp that soon turned into a soft moan. Soft as it was, it was loud enough in the quiet space that John and Lafayette both heard it as clear as day. 

John’s eyes dimmed, and his fists gripped the arms of his seat. He kept his eyes narrow and shot up in his seat. 

Apparently that was the last straw for him. 

Lafayette launched off of the desk and quickly spoke again, “my dearest, I have to go talk to Angelica, I must airplane!” (He would later be corrected by Alexander, and told that the proper word for the phrase was “jet.” He hated English.) And he didn’t even truly say goodbye before he bolted out of the room and into Angelica’s office. 

This was about to get messy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello hello! Krys here with a new update of Liberty's Angels! Indi should be comin' at y'all Thursday with chapter three. Let us know what you think, comments and kudos are always appreciated! 
> 
> much love until next time,   
> -krys


	3. Exquisite Corpse

John didn’t bother trying to bring Laf back. He could chew him out later for bailing, and right now, John had bigger fish to fry. More specifically, he had a person to murder, who had about as charming a personality as a dead fish. He stood up abruptly, his chair banging into his desk as his fists clenched at his side and his pulse spiked.

“Everything all right there, Laurens?” André drawled, the slow lilt of his accent seeming to be even more annoyingly pronounced than usual. John could see Alex practically swoon against André at the sound of André’s accent, as well as André’s resulting smirk in John’s direction, and John gritted his teeth. Why did Alex like the loser, anyways? He was incredibly sketchy, and sometimes outright rude to their coworkers or the dancers in the club. Besides, his accent wasn’t that great. It was just British! Southern drawls were obviously way hotter... not that John was biased or anything, of course. Everyone knew that. 

“Just peachy,” John snapped back, and André chuckled while Alex started glancing between the two of them nervously. Somehow, though, John couldn’t seem to bring himself to care. André was rubbing Alex in his face, and using him to scratch his itch. John knew people like André. He’d eat Alex up, savor him for a little bit like a flavor of the week, and then spit him out with venom-soaked words of how he’d never meant anything to him. John wouldn’t stand for that.

“Is there something you wanted to say, or can I get back to what I was doing?” André raised an eyebrow, lounging against Alex’s desk like he belonged there. John ground his teeth together so harshly that he felt the sound vibrate in his skull, and while he could already tell his nails were going to leave marks on his palms, he also could tell he wasn’t going to be unclenching his fists anytime soon. “After all, I was having quite a bit of fun,” André continued. His last few words were soft and low, breathed out against Alex’s neck, but John heard him plainly. He also heard Alex’s breathy sigh in response, and had to practically restrain himself from growling.

“No, you can’t get back to that,” John hissed. Alex looked up in surprise and moved away from André a little, stretching out a hand towards John, but it did absolutely nothing to soothe his nerves. He was fired up now, and he knew from experience that he wouldn’t be calm again until someone was dead, or extremely close to it. He wouldn’t rest until he saw André in pain, spitting out teeth and blood as he begged John to spare him. He wanted to make André hurt before he could hurt Alex. He needed to see André bleed.

“And why do you think you get a say in my relationship?” André asked smoothly, his voice calm but his eyes starting to narrow. John didn’t miss the way André’s hand left Alex’s hip to settle on his own, close to where John knew a gun was hidden under his clothes. Alex looked up at André in confusion, backing away slowly. 

John felt himself leaning forward unconsciously as soon as Alex started moving. He wanted to spring forward, to throw André against a wall and start throwing punches. But he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if Alex got hurt in the process. He’d hurt plenty of people before, and he knew he’d hurt plenty more. But not his Alex.

“Guys, do we have to do this?” Alex pleaded as André moved forward a step, his eyes gleaming wickedly. “Come on...” he trailed off as André turned back to him, and John grimaced as he saw how easily Alex relaxed at André’s cajoling (and very obviously fake) smile. He itched to lunge at him and wipe that smile from his face. Or perhaps draining the life from his body would be a better plan?

“You’re right, love, we don’t have to do this,” André reassured Alex, brushing a lock of Alex’s hair behind his face. “I’m sure Laurens doesn’t really want to get into a fight over a little bit of PDA.” John feels his cheeks flush, and while he can imagine a voice sounding suspiciously like Angie in his head (“John, don’t take the goddamn bait, you idiot”), he can also imagine André’s mocking smirk without even looking at him.

“It’s not about the damn PDA, jackass,” John spat out, mentally taking stock of the weapons on him and categorizing them in terms of which would most hurt André. The stun gun was obviously not an option, as he wanted to see the light and fight fade from André’s eyes. That left his guns and knife, plus of course his fists.

“What’s it about, then?” Alex asked curiously, and John swung his attention from André onto the smaller man. Alex was looking up at John with big eyes, even as his hand wrapped around André’s. John felt his heart stop at the pure vulnerability in those eyes, even as he saw André’s ego (and cock) grow at the same thing.

“It’s about that,” John snapped before he could stop himself, gesturing wildly at André. André blinked faux-innocently at him, and John glared back. “It’s about the fact that he’s got you wrapped around his finger, and he’s just using you!”

“I think Alex rather likes my fingers and what they can do,” André grinned, wiggling them provocatively at John. Alex flushed, but made no move to step aside from André, and John’s resolve hardened as he saw André hold Alex tighter. 

“Maybe he does now, but he won’t when you’ve betrayed him and the rest of us,” John bit out. “I know you’re up to something, and I’m going to find out what.” Something flickered in André’s eyes, but it was gone before John could identify the emotion (if André even had emotions). Knowing he had hit a nerve, John pressed on as his voice rose. “I’m going to destroy you, André, before you destroy us. I’m going to rip you to pieces before you do the same to Alex’s heart.”

“I would never hurt Alex,” André growled, stepping forwards and sweeping Alex behind him as he finally dropped André’s hand. “I love him.”

That was the last straw for John, and he threw himself at André. The taller man was caught off guard, and they crashed into Alex’s desk in a tangle of limbs as John started throwing punches at every bit of André he could reach.

Out of the corner of his eye, John could barely make out Alex grabbing his coffee and laptop off his desk, cradling them to his chest as he backed away slowly before disappearing from John’s view. John paid for getting distracted seconds later, when André landed a punch to his face that made the room spin. He got a few more punches in on John’s side before John focused in on the man beneath him again, holding him against the desk managing to get a solid hit to André’s nose that gave a satisfying crack and an even more satisfying spurt of blood. André sneered up at John even as blood started dripping from his nose into his mouth, struggling to throw him off, but John had him pinned. Unfortunately, he couldn’t reach his guns from this angle, at least not without letting André go. He looked around for a brief moment before grabbing a stapler off of Alex’s desk. 

“What are you going to do, staple me to the desk?” André scoffed. John grinned, considering the idea for a moment. But no, the staples wouldn’t go in as far as he liked... perhaps if he had a hammer and nails, he could attach André to the desk.

Instead, John pulled his arm back and slammed the stapler into André’s stomach, enjoying the grunt it forced out of André as his body attempted to curl inwards. He continued to wail on André for a few minutes, ignoring his struggles and his breath starting to turn into wheezing, until John felt strong arms wrap around his torso and yank him away. 

He was pulled away from André, who straightened up immediately as his hand went behind his back. But John wasn’t able to see what André was grabbing, as Peggy spun him around to face her as she continued to tug him away from André. “What the fuck, John?” She snapped. “Are you seriously trying to kill your co-worker?”

“The fucker deserves it,” John retorted, trying to spin back around to glare at André. Unfortunately, Peggy wasn’t having it. She hit the back of his head sternly, turning it back so he could see her scowling at him. She opened her mouth, probably to yell at him, but before she could, John stumbled forward onto her as he felt searing pain cut across his back. He recognized it instantly as a serrated knife, opening a slice across his skin.

“Get off of him, André,” John heard Laf growl from somewhere behind him, but not before the knife passed over his back twice more. Then there was a thud, and as John’s eyes fluttered shut, he heard Peggy swearing and Laf clicking handcuffs onto André.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed Chapter 3! Krys will be posting on Monday with a fabulous Maria chapter   
> -Indi


	4. Paciencia y Fe

The day had been long. Disgustingly long. So long, in fact, that Miss Maria Lewis was considering tearing out her own hair and screaming. But she kept her calm. She was good at nothing if not keeping her composure in a shit situation. And in her mind, this was a shit situation. It was really no different than any other day, right now she was surveying. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But now she had a bit of a time crunch. She checked the watch on her wrist, slender and silver, ticking down the seconds. 

Ten thirty AM. 

She had a date at one. 

That gave her two and a half hours to get this done. Well. Hopefully get this done. She sighed and glanced at the watch again, then back to the window, then back to her watch. The fucker hadn't moved in hours, just sitting there typing, occasionally sipping at his coffee, then typing some more. 

Maria frowned and clicked her fingernails together. Two weeks of watching this guy and she hadn't had a good enough opportunity to strike yet. But today was the day, she could feel it in her heart. It had to be the day. She sighed and readjusted her sunglasses, then crossed one leg over the other. She took a slow sip of her drink, mulled cider tea, and let out a soft sigh. Her eyes never left the window. Finally, she saw her opportunity. The man had gotten up, and was starting to leave his office.

She sat up straighter, at attention entirely and on her feet the moment she saw the man leave the office. 

He looked nervous, but not suspicious, which was good. She was soon tailing behind him after lowering her sunglasses, then checking her makeup in her little compact mirror. Perfect. 

She had all the evidence, she had the perfect idea to get him right where she needed him. Maybe she could get all of this done today, maybe… 

“Excuse me, sir?” She squeaked out, making her voice sound as timid and terrified as she could manage. 

The man ahead of her stopped, turning on his heel and raising a brow. “Yes?” He said, voice low. There was no emotion in it, nor was there really anything in his eyes, they were just… Empty. She fought the chill that tried to run down her spine. 

“I know you’re a man of honor, Mr. Reynolds. I hate to bother you, but I don’t know where to go. My husband, he’s been doing horrible things. I’ve heard you’re the one to go to when someone needs help.” She said softly, keeping herself small and closed off, holding herself in the meekest manner that she could. 

He raised a brow at her. “What exactly have you heard, Miss…” 

“Matthews. Jasmine Matthews.” Maria said softly. “I’ve heard… I’ve heard that you can get me out.” She said softly, brows knitting together.

His demeanor softened a little and he looked her over. Needless to say, her acting classes had certainly paid off, and she could tell that as she stood before him, trembling and small, looking to be the picture of nervous terror. She saw a smile cross over his lips, and he glanced at his phone.

“I can certainly help you get out, Miss Matthews…” He said, the smooth and cold tenor of his voice succeeding in making her shiver. She hid it easily, though, and finally lowered her glasses, looking into his eyes as she revealed the bruise surrounding her eye and the cut on her cheek, just below it. 

God bless Hercules Mulligan’s special effects makeup skills. 

“Really?” She asked softly. 

“Really.” He assured, offering his hand. 

Now was the moment. 

Maria had the evidence. Maria knew exactly what she needed to do.

She took his hand, a bit wary to do so for good reason, and followed him into a little byway between buildings. Her free hand stayed in the pocket of her coat, resting easily on the Glock and silencer that waited there.

Ah, Glocks. 

No safety toggle, no struggle. 

Just one smooth trigger pull and she was in business.

Maria knew her options, and for something like this, something time sensitive and blatantly dangerous like this, this was the best option that she had. 

She had been following James Reynolds for two weeks. Two weeks of watching this man go back and forth. Three women missing under his hand.   
Not missing, no.

Taken. Sent into a trafficking ring when they had gone to him for help. He didn’t take all of them, no. That would be suspicious. And considering the cases he took, just one or two women going missing here and there wouldn’t raise a drop of suspicion towards him. Things like this happened, a woman going missing when she was in an abusive relationship. That was the thing about his line of work, helping abused women, he could get away with this shit.

It disgusted Maria to no end. 

And the FBI couldn’t seem to get their hands on him. That's why she was here. Jefferson damn near _begged_ Angelica to help him, under the table of course. She didn’t need any convincing to take the job of course. Angelica couldn’t stand seeing women in this situation, and she trusted Maria with this sort of job. Maria was good at acting the victim, she could convince him that she needed help.

She knew she had done it the moment she looked up and saw that he was leading her to a car.

Just the two of them.

Maria looked around and bit her lip, not even smudging her crimson lipstick as she did. One more look around. Still alone. No sign of anyone. She couldn’t hear anyone approaching. Reynolds was bent over, adjusting the passenger seat of his car and reaching for something. 

He shouldn’t have turned his back to her. 

She fiddled with the pistol in her pocket once more, sucking in a soft breath as she pulled it out. He turned to face her at that, and she didn’t hesitate to raise the pistol, sending a clean and silent shot between his eyes. He didn't even have time to react before he fell over onto the leather interior, blood spattering the car and leaking onto the seats.

Maria didn’t even flinch. 

Fucker deserved it. 

She grabbed his cell phone from his hands, putting it in her purse with one hand. The other held the pistol to her side, making sure to let the burning metal cool before it returned to her pocket. Soon enough, though, it did, and his wallet and a few other belongings ended up in her purse as well. She left his body there, slipping out of the alley easily and grabbing her phone, tapping out a few messages. 

She sent a simple thumbs-up to Angelica, signaling the completion of the job, then a street address, followed by “alleyway, kind of messy” and a winking kissy face to Jefferson. She sent him another address as well, a coffee shop by the restaurant she was supposed to go to later on. She would deliver Reynold’s phone to him then, as well as the locations she had found for the missing women, and other contacts amongst this disgusting operation. She had already told Jefferson that she would clean house herself if he didn’t have everything else figured out within a week. 

She never made an empty threat. 

She checked her clock again. Eleven forty-five AM. That would be plenty of time to meet with Jefferson before her date. So she hurried to the cafe, about two miles away, checking her watch when she got there. Twelve ten PM. Jefferson had already arrived and reserved them a table, getting Maria another tea as well, and smiling to her just a bit. 

Sure, the deal they had was definitely _very_ illegal, but it got shit done. And they were still friendly with one another, too. Maria sat down across from him, handing him the phone and the wallet. She typed in the phone passcode, one of the things she had luckily caught in her spying. She wrote it on the napkin and handed that to him as well. “Here. I left him where I told you, and I know nobody saw what happened.” She hummed, sipping at her tea and thanking him softly. “This is perfect, Thomas.” 

He smiled and flipped through Reynold’s phone. For such an ornate operation they were running, discretion was definitely not part of it. All of their plans were laid out, exactly as Maria had seen them done when she was following the slimy fucker. Disgusting. 

“You should still be able to find the last few girls at their rendezvous point. They haven’t made any move to get rid of them yet.” She said gently and yawned a bit. Hits were exhausting. 

“I’ll make sure Madison is aware. We’ll get this taken care of. Thank you, Maria.” Thomas stood and held his hand out to her. She took it and he smiled to her before slipping out of the cafe. 

Once she was alone, she slipped back into the cafe’s bathroom, taking her bag with her and quickly washing her face, getting all of the costume makeup off before she quickly changed into a more form-fitting outfit, smoothing it over her hips and fluffing her hair back out before reapplying her makeup; the same brilliant crimson on her lips, but now sporting deadly sharp cat-eyes and perfect eyeshadow.   
Now it was time for her much-needed date. 

One more check of her watch. 

Twelve forty-five PM. 

Perfect. 

Quickly, she tossed her mostly empty tea cup away and walked with undeniable purpose to the restaurant up the block, taking claim to the reservation and taking her seat, waiting patiently for her date, who only took about five minutes to arrive. 

She sat up straight and gave a glowing smile. The other woman returned it as she sat down. 

“Maria.” She said in a sweet, smooth voice. 

“Eliza.” Maria responded softly, her voice smooth and sweet, loving. The girls both leaned over the table, meeting halfway in a soft kiss. 

Maria finally felt like she was home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i love Maria. Indi actually had to stop me from writing more of this chapter. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy, y'all. Seeya Thursday.
> 
> -Krys


	5. Meet Her Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angelica has now been pissed off by literally everyone.

Angelica frowned at John’s front door, her nails clicking against the lacquered wood as she waited impatiently for someone to let her in. Lafayette had taken John home, promising to clean him up and chew him out, while Angelica got André’s side of the story. She’d gotten that over with (it was basically just twenty minutes of him blaming John for everything that had ever gone wrong in the history of the universe), and was now ready to chew out John herself. 

The door swung open just as Angelica was starting to consider picking the lock, revealing a smiling Maria. Her nails were tinted red with blood, her lips the same color, and she was dressed to kill (literally and figuratively). “Heyo, boss,” she waved, beckoning for Angelica to come in. “I just finished stitching up John.”

“He needed stitches?” Angelica raised an eyebrow. André hadn’t mentioned hurting John that much, and she’d barely seen John since Laf whisked him away. In fact, the only thing André had mentioned about the physical side of the fight was that he probably had internal bleeding, from John hitting him with a stapler. A stapler, of all things! Not the weapons Angelica had poured her time and money into getting for him, but a stapler.

“Yeah, he managed to slice up John’s back a little,” Maria responded as she closed the door, her lips twisting in disdain. “The fucker had a serrated knife hidden in his boot.” Angelica grimaced as she caught sight of the bloody rags on John’s couch, and the first-aid kit that had been left out on his coffee table. “Johnny boy’s fine now though, he just can’t run around or fuck anyone for a little.”

“He’ll be lucky if he fucks anyone ever again once I’m through with him,” Angelica snapped, finally catching sight of John as she walked into the kitchen. He glanced up, his eyes widening as he saw Angelica, and he muttered a curse in Spanish under his breath. 

“Hello, Angelica,” Lafayette waved to her from his perch on the island, smiling widely. He looked so excited to see John get yelled at that Angelica half-expected him to pull out a bowl of popcorn at any second. “Your sister is buying more bleach for John’s floors, but she should be home soon.”

“What’s Peggy doing here?” Angelica frowned. “She said she was going out with a friend tonight.”

“Eliza, not Peggy,” Laf corrected her, and Angelica frowned harder. “She came with Maria, after their date!” Angelica spun around to stare at Maria, who appeared to be trying to sneak out of the room before Angelica could catch her.

“Don’t leave,” Angelica pointed at her. “I’ll get to you later.” Maria nodded, and Angelica shoved the issue of her little sister trying to date an assassin to the back of her mind. She had another idiot to deal with. “John, what on earth you were thinking?” She bit out as she whirled back around to glare at him. “I told you to leave the subject alone, and what do you go and do? You beat up one of my employees.”

“I’m one of your employees, too,” John protested. “Are you also going to yell at André for beating up one of your employees?”

“Trust me, I already have,” Angelica assured him. “But you can’t avoid this, John. What could possibly have been so important that I’m now two staff down?”

“Alex,” John muttered, glancing down.

“Great, why don’t we just have a Liberty’s Angels staff meeting right here in your kitchen?” Angelica grumbled. She glanced behind her, but Alex was nowhere to be seen. “Where is Alex?”

“No, I mean it was about Alex,” John corrected her. 

“What are you, twelve?” Angelica rolled her eyes. “In case you missed the memo, grown adults don’t generally get into pissing contests over people they want to date. They also don’t try to kill each other with office stationery!” 

She took a deep breath, glancing around. John was looking at his shoes, Maria was leaning against the wall looking extremely nervous, and Laf was smiling widely. “You and André need to figure out your shit before Alex ends up getting hurt,” Angelica warned John. “Because I can promise you now that if that boy gets hurt, both you and André will be out a job and several major organs.”

John shivered, and Angelica narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t want to have to make good on that promise,” she informed him. “Tell me you’ll let me handle any problems that crop up with my employees.” John nodded frantically, his curls bouncing and his eyes wide, and Laf snickered from behind them. Angelica reached around to slap him on the leg, satisfied by the grunt she got in return.

Everyone turned as they heard footsteps padding down the hall, and Laf started to reach for the gun laying beside him before Maria smacked his hand away. “Hi, guys,” Eliza smiled sweetly as she stepped into the kitchen, gravitating to Maria’s side immediately. 

“Hey, Eliza,” Angelica waved at her sister, her smile tight. Eliza froze, taking a step away from Maria.

“Angie!” She laughed awkwardly. “Maria called me, she, ah, wanted some help stitching up John, so--”

“I know you guys went on a date,” Angelica cut her off, crossing her arms over her chest. “After I explicitly told you not to date any of my staff, and I told all of them they weren’t allowed to date either of my sisters.”

“Okay, but can you blame me?” Eliza asked, gesturing to Maria. “She’s so perfect! And she’s gorgeous, and funny, and she’s smart, and she beat up that guy that was hitting on me last week.” 

“How long has this been a thing?” Angelica asked. Eliza looked down, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, and Maria took her hand.

“About six months,” Maria admitted, tugging Eliza towards her and wrapping her in her arms. Angelica’s mouth dropped open.

“You’ve been keeping this secret from me for six months?” She glared at Eliza. “What happened to telling your older sister about your love life?”

“I honestly don’t know how you didn’t find out before now,” Eliza shrugged. “Peggy’s not exactly good at keeping secrets.”

“Peggy knew about this, too?” Angelica asked incredulously. “That’s it, she’s grounded.” 

“She’s 19--” Eliza started, but Angelica cut her off. 

“She’s grounded,” Angelica repeated. “Maria, take a walk with me.” She turned and walked out of the kitchen, hearing Maria’s heels click after her instantly.

Angelica didn’t speak until they were standing in John’s backyard together, knowing the suspense would get on Maria’s nerves and somehow unable to bring herself to care. Maria had kept a secret about her sister from her for months, she could wait to hear her punishment for a couple of minutes.

“You’re on André duty,” Angelica informed Maria, who looked up in confusion. “I want him tailed, and I want daily reports on anything suspicious or out of line that he does. And I want no one else privy to this, not even Eliza.”

“Can I ask why?” Maria asked, her brow furrowed. “I thought you trusted him.”

“I do,” Angelica replied. “But I also trust John, and if he’s right about André not being trustworthy, we’re all fucked.”

“How long am I doing this for?” Maria asked.

“Until I’m reassured he’s trustworthy, or until he’s dead,” Angelica said flatly. “This takes priority over your other jobs, Peggy or Laf can handle them. Got it?” Maria nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Krys will be back on Monday with an amazing chapter :)


	6. No Me Diga

The second Angelica left, Lafayette bolted out the door, spitting a string of apologies to John as he went, offering some poorly translated excuse as to why he had to go so quickly. Honestly, he could only keep up that blissfully unaware and smiley façade for so long before even he would crack. 

So there he was, bolting out the door and rushing past Maria and Angelica--sure not to make any eye contact--and off to find his darling little protege.

A few quick texts later, and the two were meeting up at some disgusting little fast food joint, and Lafayette was cringing even thinking about the food that Peggy was oh so gracelessly shoving into her mouth. He could only watch this for so long before he cleared his throat and spoke to her. 

“Alright, mon caneton, it is no longer the time for innocent fun and games. We have work to be doing.” He said, nudging away a bit of the food that had gotten too close to him (it was still on her tray, Laf was just a bit of a priss when it came to these things.)

“Yessir, what’s on the agenda?” She asked, at least having the decency to cover her mouth as she spoke. He smiled a bit at the gesture, something she had picked up from her time with him. She really was learning, and he appreciated it more than he knew how to say. He did, though, actually have to stop and take stock of what was left to learn. She had caught on so quickly that his original plan was out the window. 

The girl was a master shot, no use wasting any time on that. She was speedy, agile, clever…. Well… Shit. 

He had taught her everything. 

“Well, caneton…” He hummed and smiled a bit. “Now that I think about it, you are good. You are completed in your training. What do you say I instead take you out for ice cream?” Because, as everyone in the Schuyler gang knew, food was the quickest way into Peggy’s heart. 

Her eyes sparkled a bit. “Ang won’t mind?” 

“I do not think so. She has… Larger fish to bake.”

“Fry, Laf.” 

He glanced at her plate and scrunched his nose. “No, thank you.”

“No, the expression is--nevermind.” Peggy laughed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, ice cream sounds nice. Maybe we could leave business alone for a while, whaddya say? I barely know you outside of work.” 

Lafayette grinned and nodded. That did sound nice. Of course he was sure he knew more about Peggy than she was aware, he and Angelica had known each other for years, since Peggy’s childhood. He had heard all of the embarrassing stories. He did love her though, and he would spare her that knowledge. “Oui, that would be nice.” He said gently, offering his hand now that she had finished her disgusting meal. “So, do tell me more about your life, all I know is what your dear sister has told me.” 

“I’m sure she’s told you all of it.” Peggy chuckled and smiled back to Laf, shrugging as she took his hand and let him lead her to an ice cream shop a ways up the block. More of a frozen yogurt shop, but still. It would be awesome, she was sure. 

“Oh, it cannot be true. She cannot tell me the things you have not told her, such as…. Is there anybody in your life?” He asked, a playful gleam in his eyes. 

She scoffed and checked their hips together. “Nice try.” 

“I will, ah. What is it you say, ‘Show you yours for mine’?” 

“Close enough. Alright, fine.” She laughed and nudged him a little again. “You need to work on your American metaphors.” Peggy grabbed one of the cups and began to fill it with a few different flavors, odd yet complementary, and Laf followed her lead with just one flavor (“Boring, but classic,” Peggy commented with a grin.) Soon they were both pouring toppings onto their desserts, and Laf was again astounded by how much Peggy could eat. Once they sat down, she hummed and picked at her yogurt before glancing back up. “So… Anybody in my life.” She brought up again and leaned her cheek onto her hand for a moment. “I don’t have anyone really, no.” 

Laf slumped into his seat and frowned. “Nobody?”

“I mean, I had a few hopefuls in high school, a couple of cute girls and a boy or two, but I chickened out after the first or second date each time, you know? It’s kind of rough to date when your family…” She trailed off and shoved a spoonful in her mouth. 

Lafayette nodded and picked a few of the toppings off of his treat, eating them slowly. “I do suppose that makes sense. That would explain why Maria is with your sister. Dating within the industry is much easier than not in this case.”

“Definitely.” She said from behind her hand, shrugging. “I don’t mind, though. Relationships aren’t everything to me, and you know… If something is meant to work out, one day it’ll work out. Anyway, it’s your turn.” She grinned. 

Laf hummed and an almost shy smile crossed his lips. “Ah, oui. It is. Well…” He mixed the toppings into this yogurt and took a small bite before he gave a little bit of a hum. “You know him, he is a part of our circle.” He said softly, cheeks heating just slightly. The look in her eyes urged him to go on. “Hercules.” 

“Mulligan?” Her brows raised and she grinned. “Really?”

“Oui, I have not yet told him, though. I do not know if I can yet.”

“I can instead.” She grinned. Laf shot up straight in his seat. 

“Don’t you dare.” He said quickly, eyes wide. 

Peggy laughed and nudged his foot with hers underneath the table. “Hey, hey. You really think I’m that rude? I could spy on him and see what he thinks instead.” 

“Because your sister would be so much more fond of that.” He raised a brow, and she raised her hands in surrender. That was a good point. Angelica didn’t much like it when Peggy spied on people just because. “I will… Maybe tell him. Maybe. One day. I do not know.” He sighed and slumped back down in his seat. 

“You should. Invite him out for drinks or something. That’s what guys do, right? Go out drinking?” She shrugged. “Scope him out. Maybe take John or Alex with you, maybe both? I don’t know. Scope out the situation. That’s supposed to be your specialty, right?” She nudged him again, giving a teasing grin. 

He couldn’t even fight the little bit of a flush that jumped to his cheeks. “I suppose I could ask John and the little lion. We will see how they are feeling after this whole… I do not even know what to call the mess from earlier.” He sighed and rubbed his temples, going back to his yogurt after a moment. “But oui, you are correct, caneton. I am proud of you.” He said softly and smiled a little over to her. 

She was glowing with the compliment. 

“Let me know how it goes, yeah? You two would be cute together. It’s like a fucked up fairy tale, the tailor and the assassin.” She chuckled a little bit to herself and kept eating. Even Laf chuckled at that and rolled his eyes. 

A fairy tale. 

Now wouldn’t that be nice…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not much plot development but our babies are growing up 
> 
> see you all thursday <3 
> 
> -krys


	7. Pumped Up Kicks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John runs away and fights people

John watched Eliza tug on her lower lip with her teeth as she paced his kitchen floor, waiting for her sister and her girlfriend to come back. Angelica had taken Maria out for a shovel talk (and presumably some actual business talk) about half an hour ago now, and Eliza had spent the time trying to wear a hole into John’s floor.

“Angie won’t be too mad, you know,” John commented finally, starting to get dizzy from watching Eliza pace in circles. Eliza looked up in surprise, and John sent her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “She just wants you to be happy, and Maria makes you happy. Angie knows that.”

“I hope so,” Eliza bit her thumb, a nervous habit she’d never really outgrown. “I just can’t stand when Angel’s mad at me.”

“Neither can she,” John pointed out. “Even if she is mad with you, it won’t last long.” A knock on John’s front door cut him off, and he glanced towards the sound in confusion. Angelica and Maria would have just let themselves back in, and he didn’t expect Laf to be back anytime soon.

“Not expecting anyone?” Eliza asked, apparently picking up on his thoughts. John shook his head as he hopped up from his seat, tucking a gun into the waistband of his jeans as he headed towards the door on Eliza’s heels. Her hand was hovering over her hip, where she probably had a knife tucked away under her clothes.

Eliza went up on her toes to peer through the peephole, relaxing visibly when she saw who it was. She swung the door open, instantly getting an armful of Alex.

“Hi, sweetheart,” she chuckled as she hugged him back, sweeping him into the house as John closed the door. “What are you doing here? I figured Angel would have told you to stay away from both Johns for a bit.”

“She did,” Alex shrugged, stepping away from her and tucking his hands into his pockets. “But I had to talk to John.” Eliza nodded, leaning forward to give Alex a quick kiss on his forehead. 

“I’ll leave you to it,” she smiled, sounding eerily like her older sister as she turned and walked back into John’s kitchen. John looked down at Alex, who was staring up at the bruise on his cheek with wide eyes.

“It’s fine,” John reassured Alex. “It’ll fade in a couple of days, and it doesn’t hurt that much.”

“It looks like it hurts,” Alex murmured, reaching up as though to touch it before withdrawing his hand suddenly. “How’s your back? You were bleeding pretty badly when Laf and Peggy separated you two.”

“I got stitched up,” John shrugged. “I’m not supposed to do too much ‘physical activity,’ but they always say that after I get in a fight. It doesn’t really matter too much if I rip the stitches.”

“That’s not really how stitches work,” Alex rolled his eyes. “Be careful, okay?” His eyes held John’s for a moment before dropping back to the ground.

“Why did you come here?” John asked, avoiding Alex’s request. He knew that wasn’t a promise he could keep, and he didn’t want to have to tell Alex that. “Angie won’t be happy if she finds out.”

“Why?” Alex asked, meeting John’s eyes again. “I know why André fought,” Alex said softly. “But why did you?”

John froze, his heart jumping into his throat. He racked his brains for an appropriate answer, all the while struggling to pull his gaze away from Alex’s imploring eyes. The only thing he could think to say was how much he wanted to lean down and kiss away Alex’s confusion, and that probably wasn’t the best conversation to have right now. In fact, his reasoning for not leaning down and kissing Alex was starting to falter, so it might not be better to have any conversation right now.

“Alex, I’m sorry, I just remembered I was supposed to, ah, meet Laf,” John stammered out, stumbling past Alex and dashing out the door.

“John?” Alex called behind him, but John didn’t look back, not wanting Alex to see his face right now. Instead, he yanked his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his car, sliding in and starting the car as quickly as he could. He pulled out of his driveway without a second thought as to where he was going, just knowing that he needed to be as far away from Alex and his sad expression as he could get.

John wasn’t quite sure how, since he didn’t quite remember driving there, but he managed to end up at a bar he hadn’t been to for years, just as the sun was setting. In fact, the last time he’d been there...

John shook the memory out of his head, jumping out of his car and locking it behind him. If he was at a bar, he may as well get a drink. God knows he needed one.

He set up a tab with the bartender, glad that they’d apparently gotten a new one since the last time he’d been here. Looking around, he saw a couple of familiar faces, but no one he knew well enough to remember the name of, let alone strike up a conversation. So instead, he just stayed at the bar, drinking his way steadily through a bottle of Jack Daniels. It wasn’t exactly his first choice in booze, but when he was this eager to get shitfaced and forget the world around him, he’d take what he could get.

Unfortunately, the next time John reached for the bottle and upended it over his glass, nothing came out. He frowned, shaking it for a minute before his inebriated brain finally concluded that it was empty. He looked up, searching for the bartender, but it was getting harder by the minute to make out faces, and the bartender didn’t seem to be close.

John turned around, looking on his other side for the bartender, but he wasn’t there. Instead, he caught sight of a familiar-looking man, trying to convince a much younger looking boy to go home with him. John’s jaw hardened, and he slid off of his stool to march over to the pair.

“Seriously, Charles?” He snapped when he was behind them. The boy looked up at him in fear instantly, obviously seeing the dark intent in his eyes, but it took Charles longer to turn around and meet John’s stare. “You still haven’t learned to pick on someone your own size?”

“Why, I don’t know his size yet,” Charles leered down at the boy. “Although I’d love to find out. Not that it’s any of your business, John. Not anymore.”

“Yeah, and for a damn good reason,” John snarled. “How’d you even get in here?” He asked the boy, trying to soften his voice. “You look like you’re sixteen.”

“I’m nineteen,” the boy shot back, twirling a fake ID between his fingers. “But I’m old for my age, I’m just born to be bad.”

“I once was born to be bad,” John snorted. “I was the kid he seduced, and then I was the kid he bruised, and then I was the kid he fucked over. Don’t let that be you.” The kid looked over at Charles, as though he was considering what John had said. But John suspected it wouldn’t make too much of a difference. It never had when people told him that.

“Bruises can be hot,” Charles smirked. “Yours certainly were.”

“Not the type of bruises you gave me,” John responded, glaring at Charles. He was reminded suddenly of all the times they’d gotten into fights, and how it had ended. How it had always ended, with John in pain. Even at the very end, when John had finally managed to leave Charles, the bastard had outed him to his father. He’d just had to find one last way to hurt him.

“Well, it looks like someone is still giving them to you,” Charles gestured at John’s face, and John scowled at his ex. “You fucking him, too?” 

“You don’t get to talk about him like that,” John hissed. “You don’t know him, and you never will.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Charles grinned, his toothy smile reminding John of a shark’s. “Maybe I want to meet your new boyfriend, hmm? Give him some tips on how to make the most of your worthless body?” 

John’s back stiffened, the movement shifting the gun that was still tucked into his waistband. The cold steel against his back grounded him, bringing him out of the past. He wasn’t trapped by Charles anymore. He could make him regret his words.

“You never did learn when to stop talking,” John mused, reaching behind him to pull out his Glock.

“What, a gun?” Charles laughed as John flicked the safety off, the familiar weight in his hands comforting him. “Like you could actually shoot one.” John chuckled at this. If only Charles knew how many times he’d shot a gun since he’d last seen him.

The last time John had seen Charles, it had been a week after John had moved out of the apartment they’d shared. He’d come back to grab his stuff, having picked a time when he’d thought Charles would be at work. Instead, he’d opened the door to find Henry Laurens and Charles sitting together in the living room, while Charles explained to Henry that John was gay.

John had entered the room just as Charles dropped the bombshell, and he could practically feel the anger vibrating off of his father. He’d opened his mouth to say something, anything, to diffuse the tension, but Henry had cut him off.

“Is it true?” He had asked his oldest son, looming over him like he had so many times before. John had simply nodded, unable to speak. Then suddenly Henry’s fist had been zooming towards him, and before he realized what was happening, he was on the floor with a swiftly-forming black eye. A kick had landed on his ribs, and then John was left alone with the pain blossoming through his side and the warning to be gone before they came back.

Now, remembering that pain, John aimed his gun at Charles’ side. He didn’t break eye contact as he pulled the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, there's only an hour and a half left on thursday but it's still thursday! i posted!  
> hope you liked my angsty angry version of john :) krys will be back on monday with maria!


	8. Satisfied

Something Angelica would never be was satisfied. Eliza was happy, Maria was happy, _shit_ , all the girls were happy except for Angelica. Her mother-ducking was just too intense. Now, of course, Maria completely understood why, it was just… Well, it was a bit much sometimes. She shook off this feeling, though, and listened intently as Angelica reprimanded her, their conversation (one-sided as it was) interrupted only by the approach of Alexander. 

The three shared smiles and hellos, Maria stating something about how she hoped he wasn’t too shaken up by the madness from before, and Angelica giving him another reprimand about how he wasn’t supposed to be around Laurens or Andre, but he didn’t seem to mind. Claimed he needed to make sure Laurens was alright. 

 

Angelica let it slide. 

 

The reprimanding continued just a while longer, and when she was certain she could leave, well.. Wouldn’t anybody bolt off after getting lectured by Angelica Schuyler? 

 

Maria made her way out, finding a nice and quiet park nearby and resting on a bench to gather her thoughts, make her plans, figure out exactly what it was that she needed to do to catch Andre…. 

Well, either that or prove him innocent. 

 

Either one would be fine in her book. 

 

Her thoughts were soon interrupted when she felt someone in her space, and she shifted uncomfortably before opening her eyes. Her hand was already on her weapon, but soon fell when she was met with those beautiful black eyes. 

She would fall for those eyes every time. 

 

“Eliza.” She said on a gentle exhale, reaching over to grab her hand. Eliza easily reciprocated the contact, and Maria relaxed for the first time since their lunch date. 

 

“I’m sorry about Angel. She can be a little… Tough.” Eliza murmured, fingers absently tracing patterns over the back of Maria’s hand. “I can try to talk to her though, she doesn’t mean anything bad, she’s just… I’m sure you understand.” 

 

“Of course, sugar.” She assured and squeezed her hand a little bit, slumping a little to rest her head upon Eliza’s shoulder. “How did you even get past her?” 

 

“Ah, a magician never reveals her secrets.” Eliza chirped sweetly. Maria actually cracked a smile and laughed a little bit. She supposed that was fair. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright before I went back to the office, see what it was Angel was holding you back for. I’m sure she cooked up some ridiculous punishment?” 

 

“Stalking.” Maria rolled her eyes a little bit and couldn’t help but give a small laugh again. “She doesn’t know which John’s a gyp. So here I am. Stuck in the middle of it. Surprise.” She gave a sarcastic, apathetic jazz-hand with the one not holding onto Eliza.

 

“Of course. I’m not surprised… Well, whatever happens, be safe. I’m going to try and convince Angel that this is alright… It shouldn’t take much, I know how to get onto her good side, so…” Eliza trailed off, and Maria pulled away to glance up at her. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Maria to lean in, catching Eliza’s lips in a soft kiss. Eliza would never hesitate to lean into the contact. 

 

“For luck?” Eliza asked when the kiss broke. 

 

“For luck.”

 

~

 

And luck she did need, Maria thought as she slipped into the disguise Hercules had left for her at their “designated rendezvous point” (also known as “I’ll leave it for you in the back seat of the Honda. Here’s the spare key”).

 

Goofy as Herc could be, he could make a damn good disguise. Maria didn’t even recognize herself. Especially once she put on her oversized shades. With the short bobbed wig--blonde of course--the baggy, yet comfortable clothing, brightly colored contact lenses, and Nike shoes she would never be caught dead in outside of the situation, well… 

 

She looked like any other twenty-some-odd woman who would be roaming around Manhattan on a nice sunny day. 

 

And since everything was new, well… No chance at recognition, especially if she did it properly and kept her distance. 

 

Maria already knew the schedule John Andre would be following. He wasn’t one to veer too far from his plans, not if he could help it. Routine was his friend That did make her job easier, at least.

 

Hopefully today wouldn’t be the day that he changed his routines. 

Maria sighed a little and hid her weapons, and she couldn’t help but yawn just a bit. It had been an absolutely exhausting day, it was hard to believe so much had gone _wrong_ in the span of twenty-four hours. 

 

That was just another thought that she shook away, though. 

 

Soon she was out the door, and hot on Andre’s trail, not that the trail was all that hot or exciting. As of then, he should be at the gym in his apartment complex. So that’s where she went, sitting in the small lobby right outside of it and tapping away at her computer, sure to be looking at something, well… Normal. She had real estate listings pulled up, as well as the local news, a few recipes… Normal enough, really. 

 

Truly, Maria hated this part of the job. But she needed to do it. It was just… so… _boring_. 

 

Finally she glanced up at the small window that peeked into the gym. Andre was still there. On the treadmill. Like he had been for damn near an hour. Boring. How could someone stay on a treadmill for an hour. 

 

He slowed to a jog again, checked his phone while he moved, picked up to a run. She frowned at that, wondering what the message was. 

 

Maybe Laf could find out. Hm. 

 

She tried not to draw attention to herself as she tapped at her keyboard, almost absently, snapping back to attention when Andre finally moved. 

 

Finally. 

 

 _Fuck, man. Not every day has to be leg day._ She thought to herself, ducking her head down a bit and typing more as he walked out of the gym, towel wrapped around his shoulders and water bottle in hand. Straight for the… Stairs. 

 

Shit. 

Admittedly, she was kind of jealous of his calf muscles.

 

She watched for a while, waiting to see if he would come downstairs again, but he seemed to be settled into his apartment. She slipped outside and across the street, peering up at his open apartment window to see him stripping down, wandering into the bathroom. She could still see the bruise on his stomach. This man was a powerhouse, working out with that injury. Maria shook her head and her eyes wandered down to her phone to catch the few words of encouragement Eliza had sent to her. 

 

That always helped her get through it. 

 

About an hour passed before anything happened, but the rest of it was so sudden. Within the blink of an eye, Andre was out of the building again, done up a little better than usual, and walking quickly eastbound. She frowned and got up to follow him. 

 

She was never happier that Herc had given her ugly Nikes. 

 

Maria had managed to get herself lost in the crowd, and she kept her eyes on Andre the entire time, watching everything he did like a hawk. They kept moving quickly, and she almost lost him once or twice, but she was good at her job, always keeping a safe distance and a line of sight. 

 

Next thing she knew, they were in damn near complete darkness. She ducked to hide behind something as Andre started to survey the area as well, staying in complete silence until another being approached, coming up the other end of the alley and meeting Andre. 

 

“Benedict. It's been some time.” Andre said, voice smooth and cool as always. 

 

In the same baritone boom Maria used to fear, Benedict responded with a laugh and clapped a hand into his shoulder. “Much too long. Long enough that we've begun slipping…” 

 

_What?_

 

She listened to everything the pair had to say, and… well, it wasn't good. 

 

She needed to get back immediately. Angelica needed to hear this…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dances around   
> shits gonna get fuuuuuunnnnnn <3 
> 
> until next week, farewell my darlings,   
> -Krys


	9. History Has Its Eyes On You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria reports back to Angelica, who makes a game plan and calls GWash.

Angelica skimmed through the pile of mail on her desk, sighing at the sheer amount of it. She was trying to get the illegal side of Liberty’s Angels away from paper trails and onto the internet, where Laf could hide them easily with a few firewalls. But it was hard to just stop using paper, especially when old-fashioned people like George Washington were involved.

 

Take his latest correspondence with her, for example. He’d sent her a glossy card inviting her to Mount Vernon, his home, for “A Winter’s Ball.” Something he could have just done over email or the phone, but no, he had to make it fancy and elaborate.

 

Angelica picked up her phone to call George, but before she could even unlock it she was interrupted by a blonde figure sidling into her office with a smirk. Angelica looked up, her hand straying to her gun for a split second before she realized it was just Maria in disguise, likely having come straight from spying on André.

 

“What are you doing here?” She frowned. “You should still be watching André.”

 

“I stopped when he got here,” Maria shrugged. “We’ve got enough cameras in the place that you can keep track of him that way.”

 

“Did you find something already?” Angelica asked, raising an eyebrow. It had barely been five hours since she’d given Maria the assignment. Maria nodded, slipping the wig off and shoving it into her bag as she started relaying her findings to Angelica.

 

Angelica was silent as she listened, getting more and more worried with every word out of the assassin’s lips. When Maria was done, she too fell silent for a moment, leaning against Angelica’s desk.

 

“You think Laurens is right, don’t you?” Angelica asked. Maria pursed her lips, nodding.

 

“André is shady,” Maria pointed out. “I know you liked that in him, because it meant he could do business for you easily. But that same type of shady could backfire just as easily.”

 

“I think it will soon,” Angelica murmured. “And you know I can’t let that happen. But this doesn’t necessarily prove John right.”

 

“So what do you want to do?” Maria asked, pulling off her baggy clothes and changing back into jeans and a leather jacket while Angelica thought.

 

“I need more information,” Angelica decided. “George is throwing a fancy ball next week, and I want most of our staff there. Jefferson and Madison will be there too, as well as some government people we’ve been keeping an eye on for them. It might be a good opportunity to get rid of a few government officials Jefferson isn’t fond of, we can gain some favor then. And I want to know what the government thinks of André and Arnold, I’m sure they have some sort of file on them. It’ll also be a good chance to spy on them, since Arnold gets back from his vacation the morning of the ball. They won’t have a chance to talk again before then. I’m guessing they’ll use this as a chance to sneak off to talk, but I know Mount Vernon better than them.”

 

“What needs to happen before the ball?” Maria queried. “Am I still on André duty?”

 

“For now,” Angelica nodded. “Keep reporting back. I want to step the surveillance up a notch, though. Get some equipment from Laf later, I want mics and cameras in his car and home. But don’t tell Laf what you’re using them for, okay? You can tell him to come to me if he wants to know why you need it. This stays between us.”

 

“Sounds good,” Maria nodded. “I can get the word out about the ball, too. I don’t expect André to leave the office again until dinnertime. Who all do you want to come?”

 

“You, Laf, John, Alex, André, Arnold,” Angelica told her. “Herc can come if he wants to, but he doesn’t have to. Can you stop by his studio to ask him to start on some outfits for it? Everyone can pick out what they want it to look like, but it needs to be bulletproof and have space for weapons. Especially your outfit and John’s.” Maria opened her mouth, but Angelica beat her to the punch, guessing what she was going to say. “Yes, you can take Eliza,” she rolled her eyes. “But I don’t want Peggy coming, it could be a dangerous situation and Laf won’t be able to keep an eye on her if he’s also working. Make sure Laf knows.” Maria nodded and saluted Angelica with a sardonic smile before she left, whistling a cheerful tune as she went.

 

Angelica's mind raced as she leaned back in her chair, staring at the wall. She needed Jefferson’s information on André, but she didn't trust him to encrypt it safely enough to send it electronically. Last time she'd trusted him with that, well... let's just say she wasn't eager to relive the memory.

 

Perhaps if she waited until the ball to approach him directly? She had promised to get lunch with Madison this week, so she could casually drop André and Arnold’s names while discussing (nonexistent) problems she was having with Liberty’s Angels. The unfamiliar names would pique Madison's interest, and he'd ask Jefferson about it. Naturally, he'd do some research, she knew he couldn't stand not knowing things. Then, she could approach him during the ball- after Laf had offed a couple of his less important political opponents- and offer to keep his name out of the media surrounding their deaths in exchange for some of the government’s information on André and Arnold.

 

Angelica picked up her phone with a sigh, dialing George’s number. He picked up on the second ring, as though he’d been expecting her to call. He probably had been, come to think of it.

 

“Hi, Angie,” he said cheerily. “How’s it going?”

 

“It’s going,” Angelica shrugged. “I just got the invitation to your Winter’s Ball.”

 

“Great,” George replied. “How many employees do you plan on bringing?”

 

“Six, and Eliza,” Angelica informed him. “John, Laf, Alex, and Herc will all be there, as will André and Arnold. Peggy won’t be coming, though.”

 

“Why not?” George asked, sounding disappointed. Peggy was his goddaughter, and Angelica knew he hadn’t seen her in a little while. She’d been kept busy with Laf’s lessons.

 

“Laf will be...busy, and there will be lots of people there,” Angelica answered carefully. “Many of whom I don’t trust. If she was to go, I would want Laf to keep an eye on her, but he’ll be otherwise occupied. I don’t want to have to worry about her in addition to everything else I’ll be keeping track of that night.”

 

There was a beat of silence, and then George sighed heavily into the phone. “How many people are going to die?” He asked, sounding more resigned than disappointed now.

 

“Just a couple of unimportant government officials,” Angelica brushed it off. “I need some information from Jefferson, so I’m getting rid of a few of his political opponents. We’ll take care of the bodies ourselves, though, don’t worry. No one will notice a thing.”

 

“They’d better not,” George warned. “I don’t want any more eyes on me than there already are. There’s a reason I’m not in politics anymore.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Angelica rolled her eyes. “Can I use your surveillance cameras that night, though? I don’t want to have to bother with setting up my own, since you already have them in place.”

 

“We both know Laf will tap into them no matter what answer I give you,” George pointed out. “But sure, go ahead. I’ll email him the security system info, it’s changed a little since you last visited Mount Vernon.”

 

“Thanks, Uncle George,” Angelica smiled, glancing over at her computer as it made a pinging noise. A new email had appeared in her inbox from Alex, and the subject was simply ten exclamation marks. “Hang on a moment,” Angelica murmured as she clicked on it warily, not sure what to expect. Coming from Alex, this was either something very important or a BuzzFeed quiz to find out what type of cat she’d be (she was fairly sure she would be an Egyptian Mau).

 

Unfortunately, this email was the former. Angelica cursed as she read it over, before tapping out a quick response to Alex letting him know she’d take care of it.

 

“What happened?” George asked. Angelica balanced her phone on her shoulder so she could type out an email to Jefferson while still talking to George.

 

“Remember Charles Lee?” She asked. “John’s abusive ex? Apparently John shot him in a bar last night.”

 

“In public?” George asked in surprise. “John’s smarter than that.”

 

“Normally, I’d agree with you,” Angelica sighed. “But considering the current circumstances, I think we’re all slipping a bit.”

 

“What’s going on, Angie?” George asked. Angelica sent off the email to Jefferson, then closed her computer and focused in on George again.

 

“I just asked Jefferson to cover up Lee’s death,” Angelica yawned, covering her mouth with her hand despite the fact that George couldn’t see her. “He owes me one. But more importantly, André and Arnold are up to something,” Angelica told her former mentor. “Maria’s tailing André, and there’s definitely something bad going on. I can’t give you more details now, though, and especially not over the phone. Maria and I are the only ones who know what’s going on, and it stays that way until I say otherwise. For now, just know that I’m keeping an eye on the situation. No matter what comes up, I will keep it under control.”

 

“You’re sure?” George asked. “When you took over from me, Arnold had already been working with me for years. I never thought he’d turn traitor.”

 

“I thought so too,” Angelica agreed. “But he’s definitely not working with us now.”

 

“Let me know if I can help,” George told her. “I may not be actively involved anymore, but I still have plenty of connections.”

 

“I will,” Angelica promised. “Those connections may be just what I need to fix this.”

 

“Is Alex doing okay?” George questioned. “The last time he and I talked, he was pretty invested in his relationship with André.”

 

“I don’t know,” Angelica sighed. “He’s questioning a lot right now. I think he’s re-evaluating his relationship with the other John, too. John isn’t exactly subtle about his feelings for Alex-- not that he’s subtle about much-- but Alex is oblivious enough that he somehow still hasn’t noticed. I think that may change soon, though.”

 

“I hope so,” Angelica could practically hear George’s smile through the phone. “I bet Martha breakfast in bed that they would get together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you liked it!! sorry it's late, had a tough couple of days. krys and i decided to switch update days, so angie and john will now be mondays and laf and maria will be thursdays.  
> i cannot wait to write this ball!!! its gonna be so much fun :)  
> -indi


	10. Dazed and Confused

Angie would never admit to anyone that it was routine, but well… It was. About once a month she would have Laf go through everybody’s emails and make sure that nothing suspicious was going on. He was used to it, and he was sure everyone would understand if they could know about it. But for now, he and Angie were the only ones who knew. 

Well.. He, Angie, and Peggy. 

 

It was time for her to learn the basics, he figured, and there was no harm. The club had some pretty wild firewalls, but Laf knew them backwards and forwards, with his eyes closed. So for now he was hovering over Peggy’s shoulder, guiding her through what she needed to use. 

If she could get into the system at Liberty’s Angels, well…. She could get anywhere. 

Washington had, at some point, introduced them to the system used during his political career. Laf had buffed it up tenfold. Liberty’s Angels had a stronger network than the American Government, and it was Lafayette’s pride and joy. So really, it was a lot of trust walking Peggy through dismantling it. Good thing he loved the kid, or this would be killing him. 

 

Of course, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Alexander sending memes to his coworkers (jackass), John doing more online shopping than he should, hell, he even let Peggy read _his_ emails, miles and miles of conversation in French with his best friend back home, Adrienne. Luckily her French wasn’t perfect yet, so she didn’t catch how much he was actually just swooning over Hercules in most of them. Thank god. 

 

Before the job was done, they were interrupted by Angie calling for Peggy, declaring that it was time for their monthly “sister’s lunch”, and she excused herself quickly, giving Laf a kiss to each cheek before grabbing her coat and scurrying away. He chuckled and just went back to what he was doing. There were a few more employees to go through, until he finally slipped his way into Andre’s account. Everything seemed to be right, until…. 

 

Well that just…

That didn’t make sense. 

 

They had dropped that connection months ago. 

 

He knit his brow and quickly took photos of the email on his phone, just in case they were deleted by the time he could show Angelica what was happening. He didn’t want to cut her lunch short, but… 

 

This was urgent. 

 

~~

 

It had only taken about half an hour to get everyone into Angelica’s office again. She looked pissed, needless to say, slamming down her drink (Venti peppermint mocha with a shot of vanilla, if Laf remembered right), and shooting him a nasty look. “This had better be important, Lafayette.” 

 

He was already sitting at her computer, doing what needed be done until he was in Andre’s account. 

“It is. Urgent. Confused.” He said, words choppy as he honed in entirely to what he was doing. 

 

Finally, he was in. 

 

Andre hadn’t deleted anything. 

 

What an idiot. 

 

Thank god for that, though. 

Angelica wasn’t satisfied with his explanation though, of course, so she stomped over and hovered over his shoulder, frowning. “What the hell is going on, Lafayette?” 

 

“Not sure, but….” He clicked at a few things, finally opening the email. The name caught her eyes, he could tell. _Naomi Rodriguez_. 

 

“Why the _fuck_ is he talking to her? The fucking trafficker? Didn’t we--”

 

“Cut bows with her in the beginning of the year, oui.” 

 

“‘Ties’, Laf.” He vaguely heard John correct, but he didn’t care at the moment. 

 

“What the _fuck_.” Angie hissed again, eyes narrowing as they went over the email. 

 

There were a few things in particular that caught her eyes. 

 

_California contents._

_Texas route._

_Juarez._

_50, 6-30._

 

“That son of a bitch.” She spit out, gripping the back of the chair. 

 

John finally approached and looked over Laf’s other shoulders, raising a brow. “Fifty?” 

 

“Fifty.” Angie repeated solemnly. “Six? Jesus fuck.” Her voice broke a little bit. That jargon, Laf would admit he didn’t understand. But if it was hitting John and Angelica the way it was, it couldn’t be good. “Lafayette, get Maria in here immediately. You’re dismissed. Go make sure Peggy’s doing alright. Go make sure Alex isn’t anywhere near Andre.” 

 

“Yes, ma’am.” He stood and saluted a bit, giving her chair back to her. She immediately took it, and John gave a sad glance at the computer, then forced a smile to Lafayette. 

 

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Laf. Take Pegs out for ice cream or something, I’m sure she’d enjoy that. You deserve a break, too. This is… A lot.” 

 

“Right, yes, of course.” He nodded a bit and ducked out of the room. Andre was nowhere to be seen, and Alex was nearly asleep at his desk. 

 

He tapped at his phone a bit, requesting Maria to show up as soon as she could. She said she would be there in no more than ten. So he went to the front of the club, greeting a few of the girls on his way out, and sat beside a pouting Peggy on the bench. 

 

“I am sorry that I had to cut your family meeting short. I am sure she will make it up to you.” He insisted softly and delicately placed his hand on her shoulder. 

 

She gave a bit of a sad smile and shrugged. “It’s whatever. I trust you, it was important. You wouldn’t have done that just because. I know you better than that.” 

 

He smiled as well at the words and nodded. “Angie did tell me we could go get ice cream though, said it would do you well. 

 

“We could go to that frozen yogurt place again?” She perked up and grinned. 

 

“Sounds like a good plan.” He smiled a little as well and rolled his eyes. “Lead the way.” 

 

And she did, a new skip in her step. Lafayette wished he could be as happy as Peggy was. He wished he could reclaim that innocence. 

 

But the entire time they were out, his mind was spinning with those numbers. 

 

50.

 

6-30.

 

What the hell was Andre doing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yooo guys sorry for the delay earlier. i think our updates should be back to normal now. Hopefully :p 
> 
> until next week, 
> 
> -krys


	11. Seasons of Love

By the time John, Angie, and Maria had worked out a plan for how to handle Andre, Arnold, and the upcoming ball, it was nearly dusk. They’d worked straight through their normal lunch break, and it was well past dinnertime when Angie finally released them, much to John’s disappointment.

 

“Get some food,” she advised when she let them go. “Or some rest,” she added after a glance at her watch. “Especially you, Maria. Assuming Andre sticks to his routine, he’ll be up and out early tomorrow to hit the gym again, and you’ll be tracking him.” Maria groaned, but nodded, giving the others a hug before she slipped out.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Angie sighed. John nodded, leaning over her desk to press a light kiss to her cheek. “Herc is still here, can you go check in with him?” She added before John could leave. “I want to make sure he knows he’ll be needed to put together outfits for the ball. Maria should have told him about it already, so I just need you to tell him to send me the plans.”

 

John frowned, debating pointing out to his boss that she could just as easily text Hercules to let him know. But she probably had enough on her plate as it was, so he merely nodded and left her to her thoughts.

 

As John took the elevator down to Herc’s basement studio, his thoughts danced around the issues at hand. Andre and Arnold were traitors, the upcoming ball would involve lots of death and quite a few cover-ups, and the plans already set into motion by Andre would involve... no, John couldn’t even think about that. And to top it all off, Alex still didn’t know any of this.

 

The elevator let out a quiet _ding_ as it arrived at the basement, and John tried to force a happier expression as he walked towards Herc’s studio. Unfortunately, the sobs filtering through the open doorway made that a little hard to do.

 

He peered into the studio, catching sight of Laf and Herc huddled in the corner. Alex was sandwiched between the two of them, both their arms around him as he cried. John sucked in a breath at the sight, his heart dropping into his stomach. Alex must have found out.

 

John made his way through the studio, dodging the various sewing materials strewn over the floor. It looked like the place had been ransacked, but knowing how good their security was, John thought it more likely that Alex had thrown a tantrum.

 

“Hey,” John said softly when he reached them, sitting on the floor in front of Alex. He reached out to hold Alex’s hand, but Alex jumped back like John had electrocuted him. Herc nearly tumbled over, startled by the sudden movement, and Alex turned away from the others. Herc and Laf shared a sympathetic glance over his head, and John sighed.

 

“Mon chou, will you talk to us?” Laf begged. Alex shook his head furiously, scrubbing at his eyes.

 

“I’m fine,” he shrugged them off, his voice choked up. 

 

“You were crying, Alex,” Laf reminded him gently. Alex scoffed and shook his head, looking up with red eyes.

 

“No, it’s allergies,” Alex insisted. John looked at Laf incredulously. Did he honestly expect them to believe that? “I got a little upset when I heard about Andre, but it’s not important enough to me to make me cry. That bastard doesn’t deserve my tears.” He muttered the last sentence, but John was close enough to hear it anyways.

 

“Wait,” John paused. “How did you hear about Andre?” Angie had asked him and Maria to not tell him, saying she wanted to do it herself. And there was no way Alex had gotten up to her office and back down to Herc’s sewing studio, and managed to put it in this state of disarray, in the time John had come down from the office.

 

Alex’s cheeks flushed a little, and he fidgeted in the way that John knew meant he’d done something he wasn’t supposed to. From Laf’s audible groan, he knew Laf recognized the movement too. “Her door was open a crack, and I may have heard you guys talking,” he admitted. John’s eyes widened.

 

“How much did you hear?” John asked, trying not to give away his internal panic. Based off of Herc’s worried look, he didn’t think he was doing a super great job.

 

“I stopped listening after you guys finished talking about what Andre was up to,” Alex replied. “I didn’t want to hear anymore.” _Me neither,_ John thought. But it was good that Alex had stopped listening then. A fair bit of their plan depended on Alex not knowing what was going on with Andre.

 

“What’s going on with Andre?” Herc asked, raising an eyebrow. “All I know is that everyone’s avoiding him, and he apparently made Alex upset.”

 

“I’m nOT UPSET!” Alex glared at Herc, crossing his arms over his chest. John half-expected him to start pouting and asking for a pacifier.

 

“Okay, he didn’t make Alex upset,” Herc held up his hands defensively. “What did he do, though?” John sighed, looking away. He’d been discussing it for hours, he didn’t want to have to talk about it more.

 

“He’s been working with traffickers,” Alex said quietly. Laf slipped his arm around John, and John leaned against his ex gratefully. “He’s supplying sex trafficking rings with bodies, because apparently that’s all children are to him.” 

 

Herc sucked in a breath, looking to John for confirmation. John nodded slowly, unable to meet his eyes, and Herc let out a string of cusses.

 

“Please tell me you’ve got a plan to take him down,” Herc pleaded. 

 

“Of course,” John responded, thinking back over the last few hours. “No one crosses Angelica Schuyler and gets away with it.” Herc’s lips twitched up into what could have been a smile, if only there was something to smile about.

 

“Why don’t we go out,” Laf suggested, and Herc’s jaw dropped. John rolled his eyes, knowing Herc had heard a different meaning than he and Alex had. His crush on Laf wasn’t exactly subtle. “The four of us should go get some food, no? Or at least drinks? A glass or ten of cognac would be wonderful right now.”

 

Herc’s shoulders slumped a little, but he nodded anyways and grabbed his wallet off of the table. “Angelica’s given me a huge budget for the ball outfits, so I can pay,” he told them. Alex opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Herc waved him off. “Dude, it’s not going to take a couple thousand dollars to make seven outfits. I’ve already got most of the supplies, anyways.” 

 

Alex agreed after a moment’s hesitation, and Herc nudged the others out of his studio, locking it behind them. They drove to a nearby pub in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

 

As John slid into a booth next to Alex, with Laf and Herc sitting across from them, he found himself remembering a different time he’d been sitting in this pub with Laf and Alex.

 

It had been years ago, back when they’d been in college and Laf and John had been dating. Then, they’d been sitting on the same side of the booth, not opposite each other as they were now. Instead, Alex had been sitting opposite John, holding hands with the girl he’d been dating at the time. John had watched Alex flirt with her, had tried not to bristle with jealousy every time he made her laugh or blush or given her the casual affection that John so badly wanted. It had been the first time John had realized how much he wanted to date Alex, and sitting next to him now, the feeling was stronger than ever.

 

A sharp kick to his shin brought John out of his reverie, and he looked up to glare at Laf. “What?” He asked, throwing his napkin across the table at Laf.

 

“What do you want to drink?” Laf rolled his eyes. “And would it kill you to pay attention to us? Your poor date looks so bored.”

 

“It’s not a date,” John reminded Laf, wishing he could say the opposite. “And get me a Sam Adams.” Laf nodded, hopping up and heading to the bar to order drinks for the group. Alex leaned his head against John’s side, and John looked down at him, startled. Alex’s eyes were closed and his expression smoothed out, looking more content than he had in a while. John smiled at the sight, snuggling into Alex.

 

“Is he serious?” Herc muttered from across the table, and John looked up. Herc’s eyes were focused on the bar, where Laf was talking to the bartender... well, flirting would probably be a more accurate term.

 

“Great, now he’s gonna be late coming back with the drinks,” John complained. Herc frowned, watching as Laf flashed the bartender a smirk and leaned across the bar to say something in his ear. John sighed, wondering if he should say something to Herc. While Herc definitely liked Laf, he’d never mentioned it, meaning he probably wouldn’t want to talk about it now.

 

“Why is he going to be late?” Alex asked, lifting his head up as confusion settled onto his face. John gestured at Laf, and Alex rolled his eyes. He pulled out his phone, tapping at the screen for a moment before he turned it off and laid his head on John’s shoulder again. 

 

Across the room, Laf pulled out his phone and read the message Alex had sent before turning to scoff at their table. Herc busied himself with his napkin, folding it and unfolding it over and over, while John scowled at Laf and beckoned for him to hurry back with the drinks.

 

“You Americans are so impatient,” Laf groused when he finally made his way back to them. “I was making friends, could you not hold your ponies a little longer?”

 

“I need booze, man,” Alex shrugged, grabbing his drink off the tray Laf was attempting to balance. “And the phrase is hold your horses.”

 

“Same thing,” Laf shrugged, retaking his seat next to Herc and starting to chug his drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so sorry this took so long! Between mental health, school, and being hella busy, I haven't had much time to write lately. We're trying to get back to scheduled updates, I promise!  
> Krys will be back soon with the next chapter :D hope you liked this one! the ball is really soon, i promise  
> -Indi


	12. Another Day

Upon leaving Angelica’s office, Maria knew she was in for a bit of a difficult run. Andre was out of the house by 0600 every day, so she would need to be up no later than 0430, she decided. She frowned a bit and rubbed her temples. Because why would she ever be allowed to sleep in? 

Her walk home was pleasant at least, if a bit chilly. It could always be worse, she thought. Luckily one of the other girls was on the case that night, Deborah Samson if she remembered right, and she had the rest of the evening to prepare for the next day. 

The rest of the night to prepare for the ball. 

To try and get at least a little bit of sleep.

Of course, the last one was more of a dream than a reality, she was sure. 

Oh well.

She stared at her clock, 2230, then settled onto her bed for just a while, rubbing her eyes before checking her phone. Waiting for her were a few messages, mostly from Mulligan, asking when she would be home and whether he could swing by. She, naturally, approved of this idea immediately and got up to get herself ready for the event and preparing herself to a sleepless night and a long day. At least she would be in good company.

It began with a hot shower, a little longer than normal, but she had plenty of time to fill before Hercules’ arrival, which he had estimated to be around 2345. Plenty of time for her to relax, even get in a nap if she truly wanted, but instead she just continued getting ready. She changed into something comfortable and settled onto the couch with a cup of coffee, the news airing softly in the background. She faintly heard something about Charles Lee getting shot, couldn’t help the soft laugh leaving her lips. Fucker deserved it after what she heard about him from John. Beyond that, though, she wasn’t paying a damn bit of attention to what was being said. She did recognize Jefferson’s voice coming through the shitty little tv speakers, though, so she knew whatever happened was taken care of. 

Next thing she knew, though, someone was tapping lightly at her door--definitely not Mulligan--and she knit her brow when she got up to answer it. She wasn’t expecting anybody, so it was off-putting to say the least. Maria’s body went tense as she approached the door, but upon looking out the peephole and realizing who was waiting for her, she relaxed fully. 

The door swung open quickly, and next thing she knew Eliza was wrapped tight around her, not hesitating to press her face against the taller woman’s neck. “Angel told me what’s been going on, I wanted to pop in and make sure you were doing alright, not exhausting yourself.” She whispered gently before catching the other woman’s lips in a soft, sweet kiss. 

Maria nearly melted, but kept her wits about her enough to carefully pull the other into her apartment--without breaking the kiss of course. She smiled just a little bit and snuggled up to her once it did break. “Liza, you’re a godsend. Thank you so much, this means the world to me.” She whispered softly, rubbing their noses together before resting their foreheads together. 

Every care in her mind seemed to wash away. 

She wished that feeling would stay.

Eliza gave a smile, her hand coming up to play lightly with Maria’s curls. “I know. Now let’s go relax before you pass out. You look so sleepy, my darling…” She giggled, pulling Maria back to the couch. Before she could stop it, Eliza had pushed her down and settled on her lap, curling up comfortably. 

Without hesitation, Maria surrendered to her, wrapping her arms around her waist and holding her close. It was nice, just sitting in the quiet and holding her close, nosing at her cheek. They never had quiet nights together, so they would take in any moments they could. 

They remained like that, silent and content, until there was another knock on the door. Maria glanced at the clock on the wall, reading 2347. Damn near right on time. Still, she huffed when she wriggled out of Eliza’s hold, going to answer the door and let Hercules in before he made his own way. She never questioned it, but Hercules could break into damn near anywhere or anything. It was Wild. 

Soon enough though, he was in the living room, smiling at Eliza and smelling slightly of some expensive IPA--likely Lafayette’s choice. He smiled and set down his backpack, starting to dig in it rather promptly to find whatever it was he needed. “I figured we have enough time before the gala, so I came to get your measurements, help you pick a design and all that. I could get your measurements out of the way while we’re at it, too, Eliza? I think Angelica wanted to pick the dress with you, though. This’ll make that quicker, too.” 

Eliza hummed and looked Maria over, a playful gleam in her eyes. “So long as I can help pick the design of Maria’s dress, I’m in.” 

Maria felt her cheeks flush, having a feeling that she knew where the dress design would be headed. She didn’t fight it, though, just nodded her head in agreement. Everything Eliza would suggest would be something Maria would like, anyhow.

Hercules gestured for her to stand at attention, legs together and back straight, soon enough he was rambling things off and Eliza was writing whatever he said. The girls changed positions soon, and Maria wrote everything down in the same manner that Eliza had. Their measurements didn’t take long, and soon the girls were flipping through different dress possibilities, Maria leaving Eliza and Hercules to design the perfect dress.

She only had two stipulations; a couple of easy accessed concealed carries and pockets. 

Pretty easy to fulfill wishes, and Hercules expected no less. 

He scribbled that down, and soon the three of them got to work flipping through his notebooks and designs to piece together the perfect design. Eliza insisted upon an off-the-shoulder sweetheart neckline, Maria opting for a corset-laced waistline, and Hercules wanted a draped skirt design. They chose the signature reds that Maria always leaned towards, adding some gentle black lace to the design as well, for emphasis of course, and left Hercules to do with those whatever he wanted. 

After the sketch was completed and got Maria’s approval (though Eliza’s was all it truly needed), Hercules was on his way out, bidding the girls a good evening. 

Maria checked the clock on the oven, seeing 0108 glowing gently at her. Eliza stifled a yawn and grabbed her hand, tugging at her just a bit. “Let’s go to bed.”

“Liz, I have to be up at 4:30.” She said with a bit of a pout. 

“Then you can still get at least a nap, and I’m not letting you go out there without sleep.” Eliza insisted, nipping her lower lip before Maria could retract the pout, and smiled just a little. “Be good for me and take a nap, okay?” 

Maria shivered a little and nodded. There were _definitely_ worse things than napping with Eliza. 

~~

Much to her chagrin, her alarm began to blare, stirring her from the pleasant dreams and warm embrace Eliza provided. One should never come to expect too much comfort in this business, Maria supposed, so she just sighed and wriggled away from Eliza, pecking her forehead before she slipped out to get ready. 

Eliza barely stirred. 

She looked back at her partner and sighed softly, reluctant to leave her side. Maybe one day she could just stay there, enjoy the warmth, the happiness, the… normalcy of the whole thing. Maybe once all this shit with Arnold and Andre was in the past. 

Maybe. 

Within minutes, she was dressed and ready, slipping out of the apartment and out into the streets, heels clicking on the sidewalk as she made her way to begin tailing John Andre, yet again, for what would hopefully be one of the last times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, so _so_ sorry for the delay guys. my life kind of went to hell in a handbasket during finals and there was a ton of personal shit going on. hopefully updates can be a little more regular now. 
> 
> until next time,   
> -krys


	13. The Schuyler Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeffermads, a lunch "date," and sisterly bonding time

Angelica twirled a pen between her fingers idly, doing her best to not show any outward signs of her current irritation. However, that was getting a little harder with every minute that ticked by. Madison was late to their lunch meeting, by fifteen minutes (and counting), and while New York traffic was notoriously awful, the least he could have done was text her a heads-up that he’d be late. 

She let out a small sigh as she realized twenty minutes had now passed, pulling out her phone to call Madison. Based off of the looks she was getting from the waiter, it looked like she was being stood up, much to her annoyance. Madison was much too gay to have a date with her, let alone stand her up. Besides, she had things to do today. She had to finish the process of locking Andre and Arnold out of Liberty’s Angels, and everything related to it. And unfortunately for her, it wasn’t quite as simple as changing the locks. She had to change all of their security protocols, get Laf to completely redo everything they did online, set out flags exposing them to governments (while still keeping herself and her people protected), and figure out how to divide their duties among her team. And, of course, all of this had to happen before the ball. If the two of them discovered her plans before they were fully set in motion, all could be ruined.

Angie was shaken out of her worries by a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see James Madison smiling down at her. “Sorry I’m late,” he said ruefully, dropping a kiss on her cheek before sitting down across from her. “A previous meeting ran a little late, and you know what traffic’s like,” he smiled apologetically.

Angie hummed noncommittally, fixing him with the steely-eyed stare she knew her employees hated. Sure enough, he squirmed under her gaze, and she smirked after a couple seconds. “How’s Jefferson?” She asked, taking a sip of her drink and leaning back in her chair.

“Good, I presume,” Madison shrugged a little too quickly. “I haven’t seen him today.”

“Of course not,” Angie nodded, catching the eye of a waitress so that she could order. “You missed three buttons on your shirt, by the way. Might want to cover up his hickeys with a scarf while you’re at it.” Jefferson flushed, trying to fix his shirt as casually as possible and failing.

They ordered quickly, both of them used to the restaurant. It was a typical meeting place for the two of them, neutral ground between Libertys’ Angels and Congress, and just far enough away from both. They waited until the waitress was out of earshot to discuss what they were really here for, although it wasn’t strictly necessary. They were both used to the political dance of conversation.

“How fares Libertys’ Angels?” Madison asked, readjusting the collar of his shirt again. Angie hid a smirk.

“As good as always,” she replied smoothly. “John’s been a bit subordinate lately, but I have eyes on him.”

“Hasn’t Laurens always been that way?” Madison chuckled. “Unruly, disobedient, subordinate... all words I’d use to describe him.”

“John Andre,” Angie corrected him. Madison arched an eyebrow, obviously not recognizing the name, and she bit back yet another smirk. This was going far more easily than she had let herself hope it would. “He was brought in by Benedict Arnold, I think you knew him? Arnold was Washington’s right hand man for a while, while they were running the White House together.” Madison definitely knew of Arnold, but Angie was confident he didn’t know him well. The unfamiliarity, combined with the fact that something might be going wrong, was enough to get Madison’s thoughts racing, and Angie could practically see his gears turning.

“What’s going on there?” Madison frowned. “Do you need help?”

“Hopefully not,” Angie sighed, letting some worry creep into her eyes. While the worry wasn’t quite as fake as she wished it was, the thing she was perhaps the least worried about was needing help. She could deal with this herself, thank you very much. “But, I suppose we’ll see.”

“Let me know how I can help,” Madison told her. “I will do what I can, as always.”

“Of course,” Angie reassured him. They fell silent again as the server delivered their food, and from there the conversation flowed naturally into discussion of the ball, among more frivolous topics. They were both going to the ball, naturally. Everyone who was anyone in New York was going, and since Washington was hosting, that meant those who were important underground, as well.

Angie left the meeting satisfied. She knew Madison would want more information on Andre and Arnold, especially as she had let slip that they had also received invitations to the ball. His research would make its way to Jefferson, as well, which was exactly what she wanted. At the ball, she could trade his information for the deaths, injuries, or intimidations of people who opposed him (or just people he didn’t like).

Unfortunately, hand-in-hand with this satisfaction was the niggling annoyance that she was now late. She always had a busy, carefully planned schedule, and Madison’s lateness had impacted her next appointment more than she’d hoped it would. Of course, the next “appointment” was really just ice cream and dress planning with her sisters, but still. A Schuyler didn’t keep anyone waiting, especially not the people closest to her.

When Angelica finally got to Eliza’s condo, her sisters had practically designed her dress for her, and Peggy was well on her way to finishing Angelica’s favorite ice cream. “You were late!” The youngest Schuyler sister cried when she walked in and promptly glared at her tub of ice cream in Peggy’s hands. “This is payback for making me suffer while ‘Liza does fashion stuff.” 

Angie rolled her eyes, scooping the container out of Peggy’s hands and replacing it with a small handgun. “Ooh, shiny!” Peggy beamed, examining it. “You already gave me my Christmas present, though.”

“Uncle George didn’t,” Angelica shrugged. “He passed it through me to Madison, who figured the best way to conceal it was to give it to me in a bouquet. In public. He’s going to ruin my reputation, or worse, people are going to think we’re dating.” Peggy snickered, and Angelica stole the spoon she’d been using so she could dig in.

“I can already see the headlines,” Eliza teased, finally looking up from her computer. “‘Former Senator’s Eldest Dates Constantly Sick Congressman.’” Angie shivered in disgust, smacking Peggy’s arm when she tried to nick more of Angie’s ice cream.

“I already finished my own,” Peggy objected. 

“Steal Eliza’s, then,” Angie shot back. She leaned over their middle sister’s shoulder to peek at the design she was crafting.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Eliza cooed, kissing Angie’s hand. Herc waved at them from the corner of Eliza’s screen, where he was Skyping her as they designed the gown together.

Angie studied the sketch critically. It did look gorgeous, of course. Eliza and Herc were geniuses when it came to this sort of thing. The dress was a peach color that she knew would make her skin practically glow, with a semi-modest neckline and a mock-corset shape to emphasize her waist. The sleeves looked like they would fit like a glove, and ended with white lace just above her wrists. The skirt was just barely poofy enough to call it a gown, but it wouldn’t make her look like a pumpkin, either. And, when she looked closely, she saw pockets and what she recognized as places to hide a knife or two.

“I love it,” Angie said, smiling at Eliza. “You guys did great!” Herc saluted Angie, thanking her, before leaving the call. The poor man had to go figure out Laf, John, and Alex’s outfits, which would be hard considering all the first two wanted was weapons and all Alex wanted was something that made him look taller. Those three cared less for fashion than anyone else Angie knew.

“I know what you look good in,” Eliza pointed out. “And you’ll look gorgeous in that.” Angelica brushed the compliment off, and Eliza pulled up a different file on her computer. “What do you think of mine?” She asked her older sister.

Angie leaned in to study Eliza’s gown. It was a dark blue, just a shade lighter than navy, with a high collar in the front, bared shoulders, and then loose sleeves that would circle her biceps and flow down to her wrists. Angie knew the material it would be made from would be thick enough for Eliza to hide an entire arsenal up those sleeves if she had to. The voluminous skirt had slightly hidden pockets, like Angie’s, and Angie could tell just from looking at it that when Eliza twirled, the skirt would flare out like a princess’. Eliza would be beautiful.

“So gorgeous,” Angie complimented her sister, who beamed up at her. 

“It really does, ‘Liza,” Peggy piped in from behind them. “Now, can we please forget business for a couple of hours? Jane the Virgin is coming back soon, and we have to rewatch all of it to prepare!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! hope everyone had a great start to 2k17 :)


	14. Hear Me Out

“I just don’t understand why Angie won’t let me go.” Peggy huffed, kicking her feet up onto the coffee table after dramatically draping herself over the sofa. Lafayette felt his lips curl in a grossed-out sneer, knowing he would have to polish the dust off of the glass top the moment she left, but he let it be for now. After all, the girl meant no harm.

And he could sympathize. He had a flair for the dramatic himself, too. 

“Ah, caneton, she is your sister. It is her job to worry.” Laf sighed, curling up on the couch beside her with his feet tucked underneath himself. There was always something so regal about how he carried himself, even when he was dressed down in his pajamas with some sort of face mask on, hair pulled back into a tight bun with one of those white-mom headbands, the ones made of the gross towel material. 

Just as he presented himself in that moment.

He was such a powerhouse. Easily one of the most intimidating and deadly men in the world, and there he was, done up like a soccer mom taking a spa day. Peggy couldn’t help but smile at the visual and the thought both. It showed a certain level of trust that Lafayette would allow himself to be seen that way, one that she had strived for since the day they met. 

Peggy was always honored and pleasantly surprised when he let that trust be known. Even as they got closer outside of their work relationship, she still idolized the man beyond words, and to know she was this close, well.. It was nice. 

She shook herself out of those thoughts, going back to the situation at hand instead. “I know, I know, but… She needs to trust me, man. I’m not a kid anymore, y’know?” She threw her hands up, body slumping down further with a huff as she did.

“I know that. I’ve watched you grow into the brilliant woman you are--”

“You helped shape me up this way, you know.” She interrupted to praise him, earning a smile while he shushed her. 

He reached over to tap her nose. “Shh, caneton. As I was saying, I’ve watched you grow. I know what you are capable of. Which is why it is not _me_ keeping you here, but rather Angelica.” 

“But she’ll listen to you, please, just… Let her know I can do it.”

“Shhh.” He bopped her nose again, then his lips curled into a smile. Not much of one, though. He didn’t want to ruin his mask. “We are not here to talk about that. Right now, what’s important is the aftermath.” He sighed, putting a stop to that quickly. Peggy sighed and nodded as he carried on; “Your sister contacted me last night, I was up late planning the fixes to our security and getting a team assembled. Washington has recommended a new security team for us, and I briefed them all last night.” He passed a manila envelope to Peggy, and she pulled out the photos. 

“Our new friends here are,” Laf fanned the photos out on the couch between them. He pointed to each photo as he went. “Benjamin Tallmadge, Robert Townsend, Anna Strong, and a friend of our dear Mulligan, Cato Onaodowan. He calls them the Culper Ring, they work security for him now, as well as a few other corporations he is involved in.” Lafayette seemed incredibly pleased by the progress he had made with them. Peggy’s eyes lit up just a bit. 

“That’s spectacular. I’m excited to see how they do.” She hummed, watching Laf as he got up and paced into the kitchen, returning just a few moments later with a clean face, a little tub of ice cream (Ben & Jerry’s ‘Phish Food’) and two spoons. 

“Agreed,” He gave a single nod as he sat down, handing her one of the spoons. “They seem to have major potential. Especially Tallmadge and Onaodowan. I am hoping that Angelica will bring them on beyond just security.”

“I’m sure she will. Especially if you tell her they’re good enough. She trusts you more than she leads on.”

This earned a soft laugh from Lafayette, and a roll of his eyes before he stuffed an overflowing spoon of ice cream into his mouth. Peggy just chuckled and followed suit. 

The two sat in a comfortable silence for quite a while, eating slowly before Lafayette broke it, glancing up at Peggy. 

“You know, this is going to be tough. Rebuilding after all this shit with Arnold, not to mention getting rid of them in the first place. It’s going to be a lot of work, a lot of time… But you can handle this, which is why…” He sighed, but his lips quirked in the smallest smile. “Which is why I went above her head.” 

Peggy’s own head cocked to the side, spoon hanging out of her mouth. Her eyes questioned where her voice didn’t. 

Laf held up his hand and stood again. He left the room, only to return with a large box. 

Peggy opened it the second she could. 

Within it rested a beautiful mask. It was a gentle, sunny shade of yellow, inviting and summery. A perfect contrast to the whole “Winter’s Ball” thing that George had going on. It was a Columbina style, going low enough to cover her nose and the upper halves of her cheeks, but leave her lips visible. Delicate gold lace covered the edges of the mask, and upon the bridge of the nose rested a lavender fleur de lis (obviously an addition from Lafayette) with rhinestones (she hoped) lining it. The edges flared out in such a way to simulate butterfly wings. It wasn’t too sparkly or flashy, thankfully, but the engraved patterns throughout it were enough to make her gasp.   
Needless to say, it was gorgeous. 

“Laf, this is amazing,” She whispered, fingers tracing along the carvings.

“Look at the rest of it.”

She raised a brow, but glanced back to the box. Sure enough, there was more. 

Delicate hands placed the mask down on the lid of the box, and she removed a tailored suit jacket. The first thing to catch her eye was the unmistakable emblem of Hercules’ handiwork on the neckline of it. 

That was nice, it meant it was already her perfect size. 

With it, of course, a tailored pair of slacks. Both had delicate work done along the hems, gentle detailing in lavender and yellow, done to match...

A perfectly made lavender button up shirt, the perfect, soft material Peggy loved, and a silk necktie matching the yellow of her mask. A lavender pocket square was the last thing in the box, yellow detailing matching the butterfly pattern of the mask embroidered along it. 

Peggy could have cried. 

“This is amazing, Lafayette. But--” Before she could ask, he interrupted her. 

“Like I said, I have gone above her head, my duckling. I would like you to accompany me. You need more field work, and I know that you are more than capable of what this would require. This is just the kind of experience that you need, and I want you to come along with me. Our little secret, of course.” 

Peggy’s eyes welled up at that, and, thankful that Laf had the forethought to move the box and their ice cream as he spoke, launched across the couch to wrap around him. “This is amazing, oh my god! Thank you so much!” She exclaimed, grinning brightly as she pressed her face to his neck. 

He laughed, rubbing her back gently. “Of course, caneton. I want you to succeed, and this is the best way for you to learn. I will teach you how to get in without being seen, and we will come up with a rendezvous point after we make sure this fits you. Shoo, go try it on.” He waved his hands to dismiss her, wiping a tear from her cheek as she sat up, then grabbed the box to go try everything on. 

He had to hold back tears of his own as he left. He loved Peggy more than anything. She was his family, his little girl.

His little duckling, ready to fly off and take on the big world. 

He couldn’t be more proud of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello hello!   
> indi and i have the rest of the fic mapped out, hope y'all like it.   
> I've kind of become obsessed with writing peggy tbqh 
> 
> anyway  
> until next time, 
> 
> krys (paperthinrevolutionary)


	15. The Origin of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> G A Y

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally there was gonna be more than this, both plot-wise and length-wise. but i wasn't really feeling the original outline for it, and it wasn't super important to the general plot, so i made it incredibly gay.  
> i'm sorry it took so long, i've been going through some personal shit (breakups suck. but enough hot chocolate and supportive friends, *cough cough* krys is wonderful *cough* and you can get through anything). i'm back now though! and my work schedule is even ironed out! side fics in this universe might appear soon!  
> also i thought i'd let you guys know, the google doc that krys and i write this in has fifty one pages! the most important milestone in any fic.  
> okay i'll stop rambling. hope you enjoy the chapter! comments and kudos are my life, please validate me and my writing  
> <3,   
> indi
> 
> p.s.: this chapter has a special dedication :) it's my bae's birthday today/tomorrow (depending on timezones lol, it's the 25th)!!! so happy birthday r, i love you so so so much and you deserve the world.

John slipped into the gym quietly, leaning against the wall to watch Laf and Herc spar. They were pretty evenly matched, to John’s surprise. When Herc did go out in the field, he didn’t fight much, if at all. But of course, they had all been trained by Washington, and he was quite possibly one of the most dangerous people John knew (second to Angelica, of course). When Washington taught people to fight, they damn well learned to fight.

As John watched, Herc blocked three of Laf’s hits in a row, then caught the other man off balance and knocked him down. Laf yanked Herc down with him, though, and they both fell down to the mats below. Herc landed on top of Laf, forcing an impressive _whoosh_ of air out of the Frenchman’s lungs. Both of them froze, staring at each other, and John did his best to melt into the wall behind him.

It was fairly obvious to pretty much everyone, except the two of them, that Laf and Herc were head over heels for each other. John had lost track of the amount of times he’d participated in some sort of scheme to get them together, but the two oblivious idiots had somehow never realized each other’s feelings. But the way they were staring at each other right now, their lips just inches apart and the sexual tension thick enough to cut with a knife, John would’ve bet half his armory that they were about to kiss.

John was lucky he wasn’t a gambling man, apparently, as Maria walked in from the other side of the gym, dressed to work out. The noise of the door swinging shut behind her startled Laf and Herc, who sprang apart quickly.

“Sorry,” Maria apologized, eyeing the two of them in confusion. “I was hoping one of you would be willing to spar with me, but John can do it if you two want to, ah, continue.”

“I think I’m done for the day,” Herc brushed himself off as he stood up. “I have to finish making Eliza’s dress, anyway.” Laf’s eyes followed him out the door, while John did his best to explain the situation to Maria through bad sign language and facial expressions. By the time Laf turned back around, she seemed to understand, and quickly schooled her face into calm composure.

“You wanna stay and watch us spar, Laf?” Maria offered, setting her water bottle down by the wall. “I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“You’ve been on Andre duty,” Laf pointed out. “Which was literally _all your fault_. It was Angelica’s way of punishing you for dating her sister.”

“Her adult sister, who is perfectly capable of making her own decisions and is barely two years younger than me,” Maria muttered. “As if I really need Angelica's blessing?” She snipped back, then frowned. “As if everyone we know has Hamilton-level issues when it comes to their own control, or, dare I say, lack of it? As if Eliza is a toddler who can’t make her own damn choices in life?” Laf shrugged, grabbing the tape and tossing it to John. Apparently this was a sore spot. He wrapped his hands quickly, moving into the familiar stretches he used to warm up. 

“What’s our favorite fuckhat been up to?” Laf asked sardonically, hoping it would distract her, taking a swig from his water bottle. “Besides leaving threatening messages, of course.”

“Talking to Arnold, mostly,” Maria shrugged, cooling down a bit. “He’s been in talks with arms dealers, too, and sneaking around. Not very well, though, he was never good at that.” She paused for a moment. “Wait, what do you mean threatening messages?” John glanced at Laf in confusion.

Laf looked at her in confusion. “The notes? They’ve been popping up at places Angie or I have had meetings the last couple of days, typically right before whoever we’re meeting shows up. It’s been a bitch trying to get them down in time, since she doesn’t want anyone to realize what’s going up.”

“Going down,” Maria and John corrected him at the same time. 

Laf shrugged. “I figured you knew about them, though,” He frowned. “It’s pretty obvious Andre has been leaving them, based on their content.”

“What are they saying?” Maria asked, her brow furrowing.

“They’ve been about Alex a fair bit,” Laf informed them. “Basically just, ‘I’ll get him back,’ or ‘I’ll make him pay for this.’ He’s also trying to get Angie to leave him alone, which is ridiculous considering that she is. At least, as far as he knows.”

“She hasn’t even started on him yet,” John rolled his eyes. “She hasn’t been in contact with him at all, and he’s been effectively shut out of Liberty’s Angels and everything related to it, but she hasn’t hurt him or done anything yet.”

“Maybe I’m not getting them because I’m not as close to Alex?” Maria mused. “You and Angie have always had the strongest relationship with him.”

“Besides John, yeah,” Laf admitted. “Are you two going to spar, though? I’m teaching Peggy to drive a motorbike later, and I’d like to get some work done first.” He changed the subject abruptly, which John was incredibly grateful for. With everything going on, his relationship with Alex was not something he wanted to focus on at the moment.

“Yeah, get your ass over here, Laurens,” Maria smirked. She settled into a fighting stance, beckoning him towards her like a character from a dumb kung fu movie. “You’re going down.”

She and John circled each other for a little, throwing a couple fake punches in attempts to throw the other off. Laf leaned back against the wall, pulling out his phone.

“You okay?” Maria asked in an undertone, low enough that Laf wouldn’t be able to hear. “I saw your face when Alex was brought up.”

“I’m fine, I just don’t like all the shit that’s happening with Andre,” John aimed a kick at her shoulder, but she blocked it quickly, and he had to jump back to avoid the uppercut she followed it up with.

“We were talking about Andre before Alex, and you were fine then,” Maria pointed out. She snapped a kick out at John, but he caught it and tried to throw her down. She realized instantly what he was trying to do, though, and used it against him, landing a blow to his stomach and twisting away gracefully. John backed away, his breath coming out in wheezes, but Maria took advantage and followed. Her limbs moved in a blur of punches and kicks, most of which he was able to dodge. She managed to get several hits in, eventually knocking him down. He grappled with her for a couple minutes, trying to flip the two of them, but she had him pinned pretty well and a hand to his throat, and he tapped out when the edges of his vision started to flicker.

“I almost thought you were going to let her knock you out,” Laf commented from the side of the gym, although it didn’t look like he’d looked up from his phone at all. Maria grinned down at John, pulling him to his feet and handing him his water bottle.

“So, what’s going on?” She asked quietly. John glanced over at Laf, but he didn’t appear to be listening. Or to care, really.

“It’s probably really shitty to say,” John muttered. This only seemed to pique Maria’s interest, and she leaned in. “I know he and Andre just split, and he probably isn’t ready for a relationship. If he even likes m-- anyone like that. But all I want to do is kiss him, and hold him, and be there for him, but I don’t want to freak him out.” Maria stared at him for a moment, a peculiar look on her face. “What?” John asked. 

“Nothing,” Maria shook her head. “I just didn’t realize this was such a, ah, recent observation.” John nodded. “So that’s it? You haven’t acted on those feelings yet or anything?” Maria raised an eyebrow.

“Nope,” John sighed. “Like I said, he probably isn’t ready for a relationship anyways.” 

“You don’t have to have a relationship to do those things,” Maria rolled her eyes. “Besides, you already do the third. The first two aren’t romantic-relationship-specific at all, though.”

“So what, I should just kiss him?” John frowned.

“Yes,” Laf interjected from across the room, at the same time as Maria. John glanced between the two of them, his heart more confused than ever.


	16. Making A Home

The sparring definitely wasn’t what Maria had expected. Nor was the confession that John gave, but she wouldn’t say it surprised her. 

Just about a week later, there she was, slipping into her apartment to get ready for the gala. She had spent the majority of the day at the gym again, and she was absolutely exhausted. At least this time she felt comfortable in the fact that she could slip a nap into her schedule. 

This idea seemed yet again turned on its head when she closed the door and found Eliza half asleep on her couch. The younger woman smiled and stretched her arms over her head, then looked Maria over. She was still in her workout clothes (yoga pants and a constricting sports bra), hair braided and draped down her back, and a sweatband holding back the curls that didn’t want to stay tucked away. 

Eliza smiled, held out her hand. “You look tired.” 

“I wasn’t expecting you.” She said gently, but laced their fingers regardless after locking the door. It was always nice coming home to Eliza. Maybe one day she could have this always. For now, though, savoring the moments they had together was way more important. She leaned close and kissed Eliza’s cheek lightly, nearly wrapped around her, but hesitated and pulled back. “I’m all sweaty and gross, lemme get cleaned up…” 

“I can join you?” She offered softly, fingers tracing over the back of Maria’s hand delicately. 

She seemed to soften completely and kissed her cheek. “Please. That sounds wonderful.” 

The two women shared a quick kiss, then walked together back into the bedroom, the adjoining bathroom. Ignored their pajamas, folded neatly at the foot of the bed, grabbed themselves each an oversized and welcoming bath sheet. 

Eliza started the water, Maria stripped free of her gym clothes and tossed them into the laundry bin right outside the door. 

Eliza moved to the counter, removed her makeup, Maria pressed against her, wrapping around her from behind, kissed the back of her neck and the top of her shoulder. 

Nothing sexual, all just sweet, loving little touches. 

The moment was perfect, the two women skirting around in the most beautiful domestic dance, a waltz of perfect dreams they longed to see daily.

When the room was sufficiently steamed up, they both stepped beneath the stream of hot water, Eliza making sure Maria was directly beneath it so she could wet her hair, lather the shampoo into it and massage Maria’s scalp as she did so. She let out a gentle sigh and leaned back into the touch, smiled, kissed her cheek a bit. Once the soap was rinsed from her curls, Maria turned around in Eliza’s hold, rested their foreheads together and stole a gentle kiss. 

Maria wasn’t sure she believed in heaven, but she was pretty sure if it existed, this was it. 

~~

The following day was… Manic, to say the least. Both girls were in a rush to get ready, Hercules had come over to do the final fittings and whatever alterations were needed. Lafayette came by to help both with their makeup, he was a master at it, despite Hercules assuring him that “I’m fully capable of doing it my-damn-self, Laf.” 

Soon, the girls stood before each other, doing final adjustments and helping with one another’s hair, spinning around and watching the dresses flow in their reflections. 

“Promise me a dance before shit hits the fan?” Eliza whispered, kissing Maria softly once she knew both of their lipsticks had set. 

“Yeah, of course. If we hurry we can get a dance in before your sister comes and makes everything business.” Maria said, playing absently with a loose lock of Eliza’s hair. The other woman leaned absently closer to the touch, kissed the heel of Maria’s palm, smiled up at her. 

“That sounds wonderful. Do we have a ride?” 

“I’ve already called a car for us, it should be here in about twenty minutes. Are you sure you’re ready for this, Liz? It might get messy, its.. Okay, it _will_ , who am I kidding.” Maria sighed a little, squeezed her hand. 

Eliza gave a smile a little bit sad, but didn’t seem to fight the assumption. “Yeah, I know, but it’s the best we’ve got. We have to do what we can, and I have faith that you can figure this out. You’ve got this, honey.” She said softly and cupped her cheek now, looked into her eyes and smiled. “I love you, Maria. You can do this, and if you need anything, I’ll be right there for you okay? We can all do this.”

The smile on Maria’s lips, painted red and beautiful, could have lit the room up like fireworks. Eliza barely resisted kissing it. “Thank you, Eliza… I love you so much.” She whispered, squeezing her hand one more time before they headed to wait for the car. 

~~

Arriving at the gala was quite the ordeal. The room was full of high-status socialites, politicians, friends, family and foe alike. It was almost overwhelming until a familiar presence hovered behind both of them, catching their attention before Maria could act too rashly. 

“Girls, it’s a pleasure to see you both. Eliza, I wasn’t sure you were going to come.”

Both women whipped around at the same time, gasping “George!” and “Mr. Washington!” simultaneously. Eliza fell onto the older man, leaned against him and wrapped around him. Maria stood at attention as if she were in basic training, and he was her commanding officer. 

Though, all things considered, to say he was her commander in chief wouldn’t be too far off. Sure, Angelica was the boss, but they all still answered to George Washington above anybody else. 

“At ease, Maria.” George chuckled and pat her shoulder gently. “And enough with the formalities, you’re family.” He assured her.

She relaxed, but she didn’t seem too convinced of that statement. She eyed him a little suspiciously, then bit her lip. “Yessir--George. Sorry.” Shit. “Why did you want us here? I’m sure you had motives beyond ‘family’?”

“Yes, right. Okay, I’m sure you both know Angelica filled me in with what has been going on. Benedict is in attendance tonight, and Andre should be arriving soon. He RSVP’d at the very least. There are a few people in attendance as well that I have seen skulking around with the two of them. Jefferson and Madison arrived about twenty minutes before you did, and I’ll admit, I’ve no idea what they’ve been off doing, but they’ve been making the rounds already. Keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary, keep yourselves safe.” He said gently, pulling a small box out of his coat pocket and handing it to Maria. “Here, you two go put these in.” 

She opened the box and raised a brow, finding two little ear pieces resting inside. 

“I’ve got the microphone for it, so I’ll let you know if anything important happens. I’ve got communication with my posted security all through the building, and I’ll be sure to give ear pieces to the rest of them once they arrive. Be safe.” With that, he patted both of their shoulders again and turned on his heels, leaving the girls to their own devices. 

Maria pocketed the small box and took Eliza’s hand, leading her back into one of the empty spare rooms and putting the pieces in for both of them. Eliza messaged George to let him know that the deed was done, and a staticky voice soon came through. 

_“Check, check. Everybody should now be operational until the rest of the group arrives. Message me if you have any issues.”_ Then a bit more empty futz, and the sound of the microphone clicking off. 

Eliza sucked in a deep breath, turned to face Maria. They shared a small smile, then took one-another’s hands. 

“I believe I owe you a dance?” Eliza said gently, squeezed. 

Maria grinned bright. 

Maybe tonight would be easier than she expected. 

“The dance floor is waiting. After you, love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y’all! 
> 
> just wanted to let you know that indi and i are flipping our schedules due to the new semester, so indi will be posting mondays, and i’ll be posting thursdays! we apologize for our gaps in posting, as life gets in the way sometimes—i’m sure you all know. 
> 
> hopefully we can keep it regulated for the next little bit, thank you so much for reading and sticking with us, it means the world! 
> 
> until next time, sending love to you all!   
> -krys


	17. The Envy of All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ball, part one!

Angelica parked behind Mount Vernon, slipping in through the kitchen with a smile and a nod to the staff working there. They all recognized her, of course-- she and her sisters had been sneaking in this way for twenty years, grabbing a sweet or two before they went to see their godparents. Today, however, she avoided her usual donut. She was fairly sure Herc would kill her if she managed to get powdered sugar on her gown.

“Angie!” A familiar voice called from behind her, and she spun. George was standing at the hallway leading towards the main part of the house, a small box in his hands.

“Uncle George,” Angelica greeted him with a smile and a kiss on his cheek. “Surprised you aren’t out there greeting your guests.”

“Martha is doing that, and immensely enjoying herself,” George replied. “She hasn’t gotten to play hostess for a while, poor thing.” Angelica chuckled, and he held out the box. “An earpiece,” he explained. “Your sister and Maria are already connected, as are John and Alexander. I’ll make sure Laf gets one when he arrives. My head of security, Tallmadge, is controlling them, and of course I’m hooked up as well.” Angelica nodded in understanding, taking the earpiece from him and slipping it into place. She adjusted her braid to hide it better, then let her mentor guide her towards the party.

The two walked quietly through the halls, the silence between them comfortable. They ended up in George’s private library, where he pulled aside the carpet and entered the combination to open the door separating the public and private sections of the house. This setup had been created back when George had been running the organization out of the federal government, and had needed a physical line between his legal and illegal work. In those days, balls like this one had been much more common, and Mount Vernon had been filled with much more politics. Today, most people simply knew it as the place Washington retired to live in, or as his gun range.

Just before they entered the ballroom, George laid a hand on Angelica’s arm, and she looked up at him quizzically. “Don’t get blood on the East Wing floors,” he told her, after switching on the earpiece. “Martha just re-did them.”

Eliza’s giggles floated through the earpiece, followed by an “aye, aye, Captain” from Maria and a quieter “yes, sir” from John. Their mics clicked off, and George took Angelica’s arm and led her into the ballroom.

George took Angelica’s arm and led her into the ballroom, both of them fixing a smile onto their faces. 

The room quieted as they entered, the majority of the guests recognizing at least one of them. In seconds, Angelica was surrounded by a crowd of politicians and businessmen, and George slipped away (presumably in search of his wife).

“Good evening, Miss Schuyler,” Ben Franklin leered at her, and she fought back the urge to flinch. While the police had never proven he did it, Angelica knew he was responsible for quite a few deaths. Although, that didn't bother him nearly as much as the way he ogled her chest whenever he saw her.

“Mr. Franklin,” she nodded politely, glancing in the opposite direction in the hope of finding literally anyone else to talk to. Her eyes landed on Dolley Madison, James’ ex-wife, who was staring at her. Angelica brushed through the crowd gently, moving towards the dance floor and knowing that Dolley would follow her.

“Angelica,” Dolley’s soft voice greeted her warmly. “How have you been?”

“Very well, thank you,” Angelica responded, taking her friend’s hand and twirling her to the beat of the song. “And you?”

“Busy,” Dolley shrugged, pulling Angelica into a dance. “My boys are both in Cub Scouts now, and somehow I got roped into being a troop leader. If I could have a single night without a mother complaining to me, I’d be ecstatic. And you? I trust the club is doing well?”

“It is,” Angelica nodded. “We’re going through some staffing changes, and I think it’ll greatly benefit the club. I’m excited to see how it plays out.”

“It’s been too long,” Dolley sighed, a hint of wistfulness creeping into her eyes. “We should meet soon, do some catching up?” Angelica smiled at the thought. She and Dolley had always been close, and Angelica considered her the closest confidant she had-- outside of her sisters, of course, her relationship with Dolley stretched quite a bit beyond sisterly. They were more like gal pals, as Alex had referred to them more than once. 

“I’d like that,” Angelica agreed. Someone tapped on her shoulder then, and she looked down to see John Adams beaming up at her.

“Miss Schuyler, may I beg the honor of a dance with you?” He asked. While not her favorite person in government, he was one of the more significant members of his party, and it would only benefit her to strike up a friendly relationship with him. Besides, she had to perform tonight as “former Senator Schuyler’s eldest,” not just as “successful CEO and businesswoman.” As sleazy as many American government officials were, she had a part to play, and that did involve mingling with them politely from time to time.

After listening to Adams talk about himself for an entire song, Angelica accepted a dance with James Monroe, and then Charles Pinckney, and after that John Jay. She nearly lost track of them after that, until eventually Alex stole her away from an extremely one-sided conversation with John Hancock. She mouthed a quick apology to Hancock over her shoulder, before whispering a quick “thank you” to Alex. 

“Figured I should intervene before you hurt someone,” he said in an undertone. “Your hand kept straying to your pocket while Hancock was talking, and here wouldn’t be the best place to pull a gun.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll leave that one for Laf tonight,” Angelica chuckled, glancing around but not seeing him. He must be busy at work already. She did see John, however, and started steering Alex towards him. “How have you been tonight? Enjoying the ball?”

“Definitely,” Alex nodded. “The Washingtons sure know how to throw a party.” They reached John, and Angelica pulled him into a hug. 

“Keep Alex away from Andre,” she hissed in his ear before letting him go. She fixed her hair, subtly crooking her pinky towards where Andre was engrossed in conversation with Abigail Adams. John smiled at her, and Alex’s attention seemed to fixed on the table beside them, which was covered in various sweets.

“You’ve got a room full of the most important people on the East Coast, and all you care about is the chocolate,” Maria snickered, coming up from behind them with Eliza holding her hand. “Never change, Hamilton.”

“I’d be okay with changing to be a little taller,” Alex shrugged. “But I think it’s a little late for that.” Eliza snorted, and then all five of them froze for a second as their earpieces crackled to life.

“I need some help in the West Corridor,” Laf requested, his breathing a little heavy. “One of my targets brought bodyguards, and one’s about to get away.”

“I’m just a couple seconds away,” a female voice replied, and they all heard her mic as well as Laf’s shut off. 

The group in the ballroom relaxed again, and Angelica glanced around furtively to make sure none of the partygoers had noticed anything out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed to be amiss, thankfully.

“I’ll take that as my cue to get to work,” Maria sighed, kissing Eliza’s cheek before slipping away. Eliza watched her girlfriend go, a mixture of pride and worry on her face.

“She’ll be fine, it’s nothing she isn’t used to,” Angelica reassured her sister.

“I know,” Eliza glanced up at her. “I just want her to stay safe.” Angelica kissed her forehead, nodding. John and Alex left them for the dance floor, just as a different Laurens approached the sisters from their other side.

“Senator Laurens,” Angelica greeted him cordially, thanking her lucky stars that John had just disappeared. She wasn’t sure if Henry knew that his son was working for her, but he definitely did not know that John would be here tonight, nor did he have any reason to. As far as he knew, John was just the boy he’d disowned 6 years ago upon discovering his sexuality.

“Miss Schuyler,” he shook her hand, then Eliza’s. “Miss Schuyler,” he repeated with the ghost of a smile on her face. “I must admit to being a little surprised that neither of you have found a man to change that name yet.”

“I’m a little busy running my business to think about marriage right now,” Angelica smiled tightly. “Besides, many women don’t give up their name these days.”

“I’m rather proud to be a Schuyler,” Eliza piped up from her side. “It makes me remember our father, and all the wonderful things he did for our country.”

“Naturally,” Senator Laurens couldn’t quite disguise his grimace, and Angelica hoped she was doing a better job of disguising her smirk. She knew that he was currently working to repeal a bill her father had helped to get passed shortly before his death, regarding border security. “There’s still another Schuyler, right? Don’t you have a sibling hidden away somewhere?”

“A sister,” Angelica replied. “Peggy isn’t here tonight, though."


	18. What Would You Do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentions of sexual assault, graphic depictions of violence!

“Now, you remember what I told you, oui?”

“Yeah, yeah. Stay low, stay quiet, _stay away from Angelica_.” 

“Bien, caneton.”

Lafayette leaned over and adjusted Peggy’s hair, pulled it a little tighter back and squeezed her shoulder. She looked like a completely different woman. The suit fit her perfectly, and she was damn near glowing. This was her first real job!

Well, the first big one, at least. 

“Now, my duckling. Here, come sit.” He gestured beside him, pat the couch cushion. They had shut themselves away into one of the spare rooms in the back of Mount Vernon, where no one would think to look for them. Hopefully no one would even be in this part of the manor to begin with, but, well… “You have three targets tonight. William Howe, Charles Cornwallis, and Mariot Arbuthnot. Howe and Arbuthnot, you’re just extracting information for us, okay? Cornwallis needs to be disposed of.” 

“Right.” Peggy nodded, then glanced at the little photos Lafayette produced from his pocket, each labeled with red Sharpie, the beautiful script that was Laf’s handwriting showing each man’s name. 

“But I do have to ask one more thing of you, caneton… Could you perhaps keep an eye on Alexander tonight?” He requested, fidgeting gently with his hands and giving her a bit of a hopeful look. “After everything with Andre, and how John has acted, I feel it best that we keep an eye on him until all of this is over with.” 

Peggy gave another nod, hummed a little. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll run into him. You’re gonna watch him as well, I assume?” 

“Of course, of course. I just feel as though you may see something beyond what I am able. Anyway.” He set the photos out and sucked in a breath. “Let us begin. William Howe is believed to still be involved with Arnold, though we are not sure to the extent. See if you can get information out of him, or at least catch something he may say to Cornwallis or Arbuthnot. I know that the three of them are journeying in together, as guests of Arnold as well. 

“Cornwallis used to work for us, so he knows far too much. I fear that he may still have a connection to Liberty’s Angels, which could be working against us and getting the information back to Arnold and Andre. Beyond that, we know that Arbuthnot is one of the leading members of the human trafficking rings based out of our dear Manhattan. Angelica would like to see a stop to this, so once you get the information out of him, I am sure that Maria will be going for him. I would prioritize him, as she does not know you’re here. She know I am looking into him, but nothing beyond that.” Laf sighed a little bit and looked at the photos again. 

“The reason that Cornwallis has become a priority for us is because, well..” He sighed a bit, the look on his face saying enough for Peggy. “Human trafficking is bad enough, but he’s been.. Directly involved. He has a history of being an abusive spouse, on top of child abuse and counts of sexual assault and rape.” The disgust in his voice was heavy, and the look in his eyes was deadly. “The charges have all been dropped because his attorneys have been known to gaslight and discredit the victims, but..” Lafayette knew better than that. 

“He’s been on Angelica’s radar for quite some time, but he’s more of a threat now than he was before. I trust that you’ll be able to do this on your own, my duckling, but if you need me at all, you know how to contact me, okay?” He leaned over, kissed Peggy’s forehead. “I have complete faith in you, Peggy. Good luck.” He smiled, grabbed and squeezed her hand. 

She squeezed back and smiled as well, though hers was a little more nervous. “Thank you, Laf. I won’t let you down.”

 

~~

Breathe in, breathe out, scope the room. 

In, out. 

In…. Out…

In….

There he was. 

Charles Cornwallis, looking as smug and shitty as ever. 

She let out the breath, tapped the holster of her pistol under the suit jacket, looked around as though the sound had revealed her. She took a moment to heed the warning Lafayette had shared with her, direct from George; “Don’t get blood on the East Wing floors, Martha just re-did them.” She noted their location and hissed softly. She would have to wait, as he was directly in the main East Wing corridor. 

Knowing she couldn’t draw his attention without creating a scene, she kept in the crowd, mingled and always kept him in the corner of her gaze. Sure enough, Cornwallis was mingling with Arbuthnot and Howe. She made note of what she could hear, mostly locations and a few dates, and thank Christ he was taking the last of his champagne and walking away. 

Keeping a safe distance, Peggy followed him and sent Lafayette a GPS ping so he could locate the other two men. She kept herself hidden the best she possibly could, and soon they were in the courtyard. Cornwallis started digging in his pocket, soon producing a rather old looking Zippo lighter and a pack of menthol cigarettes. She watched him bring it to his lips, light it and draw in a deep drag, holding it for quite some time before he let the smoke out through his nostrils. 

Upon turning around, he was met with the youngest Schuyler, pistol drawn and aimed quite nicely between his eyes. 

He gasped, letting the cigarette fall to the ground as his hands shot up in surrender. A gesture that normally would have been heeded, but all things considered… 

Peggy drew back the hammer of the pistol, eyes trained on his.

“So this is where it ends?” He questioned, voice thick and smoky, raspy from years of abuse and heavy with his accent. 

Peggy didn’t respond, eyes narrowing. She noted movement in the shadowed treeline behind them, tensed further until she saw Lafayette standing amidst the bushes, champagne flute in one hand and his own firearm in the other, just in case shit got bad. 

“Don’t I get any final words, little Schuyler?” Cornwallis raised his brow, tone mocking. Peggy let out a low growl, finger resting heavy on the trigger. 

Just one squeeze was all she needed, but..

“Alright, alright. No games, then?” 

Why was she suddenly freezing up? Fuck, _fuck_. This isn’t what Laf taught her, _fuck!_

“What’s wrong, little Schuyler?” 

Her hands were shaking by then, but the second he moved, began to took a step forward, Peggy sucked in a breath, pulled the trigger. 

The world seemed to go white for a moment, and when she came to again, soaking in the reality of what she had just done for the first time _ever_ , she saw the man on the ground, face twisted in a disgusting mix of arrogance and fearful realization. Her hands trembled as she dropped the pistol by her side, looked down at the man with eyes blown wide, barely registered Lafayette running towards her. 

Thankfully with the silencer, nobody heard the deed being committed but herself, the victim, and her mentor, who was now by her side and leading her to the shadows of the trees. He had tipped Maria off as to where the other two men were, so nothing about that concerned him. 

In that moment, the only thing that mattered to Lafayette was the wellbeing of his little duckling. 

Once they were alone, and Lafayette had called for someone to take care of the corpse, he placed his hand on her shoulder, looked at her with nervous eyes. 

“You hesitated.”

“That was…”

“Harder than it seems, oui?”

“Yeah.” She shook a little bit in his hold, leaned against him fully. 

“It is okay, caneton. You do not have to do it again. I understand. You are so good at everything else you do, I understand.” 

But that wouldn’t fly, no. She had to prove herself to Laf. She _had to_. This wasn’t just her, no, this was the Schuyler family legacy at hand. She was sure she could get herself to the point of doing it without hesitation. She was sure the first time was hard even for Laf, for her sister, for Uncle George. 

She could do this. 

She could be just as powerful as Angelica. 

But there, under Lafayette’s gaze and tucked under his arm, she couldn’t help but wonder when that would be. 

She would have to do something to make this up to him, to prove to her mentor that all this was worth it. 

That _she_ was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woooo some character development for ya girl peg! building into something big~
> 
> glad I got this done tonight, bahahah. hope y'all enjoy <3 
> 
> now im off to see fun home ;p 
> 
> until next time, with love,   
> -krys


	19. What You Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dancing + gay, what could go wrong?  
> (not all that much really)

John pulled Alex towards the dance floor, Angie and Eliza’s voices disappearing into the background. All John could think about was Alex’s warm hand clutched in his, and the way his hair shone under the lights, and the way his eyes sparkled when he turned to smile up at John. When the song changed suddenly, going from more upbeat pop to a waltz, Alex looked a little unsure, glancing back towards where they'd left the Schuyler sisters.

"Dance with me?" John asked before Alex could slip away. Alex looked up at him, startled.

"I don't really know how," he admitted. "Especially not to this type of music."

"Then it's a good thing I do," John shrugged. He took Alex's hand gently, placing it on his waist, and then placed his own hand on Alex's shoulder before clasping their other hands together. "Just let me guide you."

He listened to the music for a moment, getting used to the rhythms, then stepped back, pulling Alex with him before gliding to the right. They moved in a small circle at first, Alex’s movements a little jerky. “Relax,” John told him. “Flow with the music, and just mirror what I do.” He moved to the side, Alex doing the same, and then forward, Alex stepping back. “There we go,” John smiled. Alex let out a surprised laugh as John twirled him, and John’s breath caught in his throat as Alex ended the twirl in much closer proximity to him than before.

“This is fun,” Alex said quietly as John continued to lead him around the dance floor, the movements coming more and more naturally with every step they took together. “Where did you learn to dance like this?”

“My father,” John admitted. “It isn’t uncommon for a politician’s children to be dragged to events like this, and of course he wouldn’t have me embarrass him anywhere, let alone the dance floor.”

“So that would be why the sisters dance so well,” Alex realized. 

“Yeah, but I can’t really picture Peggy taking ballroom classes,” John chuckled. “I got to see her waltz earlier, though. She was helping Maria practice the other day, I think she wanted to impress Eliza.”

“Eliza would be impressed by watching Maria sleep,” Alex snorted. “She’s head-over-combat boots for her. Eliza used to dance, though, so she’ll still probably be the one leading.”

“Wait, really?” John asked, moving a little faster as the music changed to a faster song. Alex kept up with him, and John grinned.

“She did ballet until her sophomore year of college,” Alex informed him. “She could’ve gone on to dance professionally, probably. But Angie was opening Liberty’s Angels then, so Eliza switched to a law degree and went in on the club with her sister.”

“Are you allowed to be telling me all this?” John asked. He caught sight of Andre behind Alex, talking to Von Steuben, and promptly twirled Alex in the opposite direction. “I don’t want the Schuylers to come fuck me up because I know their history now.”

“Nah, they don’t care,” Alex shrugged. “It’s not like I’m telling you about that time Eliza--”

 _“That time Eliza what, sweetheart?”_ Her voice crackled over their earpieces, and John snickered at Alex’s wide-eyed expression. 

“Did I leave my mic on?” Alex whispered to John, who shook his head.

 _“I’m actually just standing behind John reading your lips, although I kind of want to say yes to see your face,”_ Eliza chuckled. Alex had to stand on his tiptoes to glance over John’s shoulder, dropping back down to his normal elfish height with a pout when he caught sight of her.

“C’mon, let’s escape,” John suggested. “We don’t have assignments to take care of, and we don’t need her teasing.” Alex nodded, glancing around. John reached up, turning on his mic under the pretense of fixing his hair. _“We’re gonna go find someplace quieter, maybe sit for a bit,”_ he explained in a whisper.

 _“Turn right out of the ballroom, then left, right, right gets you to the library. Code is 1776,”_ Angie replied. John nodded-- he couldn’t actually see her, but he was sure she was nearby keeping an eye on everything. He flicked off his mic as he and Alex headed towards the exit, still hand-in-hand.

Angie’s directions got them to the library easily, and they didn’t run into anyone that shouldn’t be there, thankfully. John knew Laf was probably off getting information and bodies already, and Maria would be on her way to fulfill her own assignments soon, but that was on the other side of the manor. They should be left alone here.

“This never ceases to amaze me,” Alex sighed once they were safely ensconced in the library. He turned on a couple lamps, looking around at the book-lined walls in awe. John knelt down in front of the electric fireplace, turning it on and setting the temperature high.

“Didn’t you stay here for an entire summer once?” John asked.

“At Mount Vernon, or the library?” Alex grinned. “I did, I’d just gotten kicked out of my last foster home and I wasn’t 18 for several more months. I knew George and Martha already through Eliza, and they let me stay with them the summer before college.” 

“And according to Martha, you spent the entire summer in the library,” John teased. “How are you still awestruck by it?” He sat down in the armchair closest to the fire, hoping it would warm him up quickly.

“Because- because look at it!” Alex frowned. “How can you not be? The sheer amount of books here, and it’s so well-organized. Their section on law alone has over a thousand books!” He perched on the arm of John’s chair, pointing to a ladder that lead to a little alcove. “You see that little nook? That’s got a hundred different books on the English language, and if you move that ladder, half that wall is dedicated to other languages.” He twisted to point to another part of the library, but overbalanced in the process, and he tumbled into John’s lap with a small squeak. 

“I’ve got you,” John murmured, slipping his arms around Alex so he didn’t fall off the chair. Alex straightened himself out slowly, not leaving the circle of John’s arms as he did so. He looked up at John, and John could practically feel his heart hammering against his throat-- when did it jump up there? 

Alex’s eyes were huge, and while the fire behind them was fake, the warmth of its reflection flickering in Alex’s eyes was not. John held his gaze for a long moment, and then Alex’s eyes dropped down to John’s lips. Or perhaps he was just looking down, that was probably just wishful thinking... but then he looked back at John, and his lips parted slightly, and before either of them quite realized what was happening John leaned forward and kissed Alex gently.

He pulled back after a second, afraid he’d fucked everything up. Alex stared at him, and John was half-expecting a slap (or a bullet-- he’d been there when Herc had explained to Alex the fastest way to reach the gun hidden under his shirt). Instead, Alex kissed John.

John’s heart wasn’t in his throat anymore. Yes, it was beating in his chest faster than the moment before a bass drop in a bad pop song, but he knew in that moment that it was irrevocably in Alex’s grip. He was fucked.

He couldn’t focus on that right now, though. He had an Alex to kiss.

John pulled Alex closer, one of Alex’s hands slipping into John’s curls and tugging. John nearly moaned, caught off-guard, and Alex took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. John pulled Alex’s suit jacket off, unfortunately having to break the kiss in the process. As soon as it was off, he bent to press his lips to Alex’s neck, biting down lightly. Alex gasped as John left a trail of kisses along his neck and across his jawline before finally reclaiming his lips, only to have Alex push him away.

“Alex?” John asked, but Alex just shook his head, untangling himself from John quickly and rushing towards the door. He didn’t even bother with his jacket, bolting from the library and leaving John feeling like a jilted Prince Charming with the lone piece of clothing. Although, perhaps not as charming as he’d like to think, considering the way Alex had ran away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed! it's still technically monday for another half hour, so I think we're doing great with the schedule lol  
> comments and kudos make our day, please give us some!


	20. Endless Night

Immediately upon notification, Maria was on her way to follow Howe and Arbuthnot. Lafayette was tailing Cornwallis for the time being, and she had full faith that he would be taken care of. 

To this point, the night had gone rather well. The girls had shared responsibility of tormenting Alex, always a favorite hobby of Maria’s. They had also shared the assignments, the dance floor, and their affections. Up until that point, neither woman had seen any trace of Arnold or Andre, and Maria honestly hoped that neither one of them would show their faces at the gathering, that they could just have an easy outing and take care of their business. Of course, she was also sure that the mere thought of that was too good to be true, but hey. A girl could dream right? 

After another dance with Eliza, the girls had parted ways, Angelica requesting an audience with her sister and Maria being called into action by Lafayette. They shared a quick kiss (Maria could swear she heard people in the crowd cooing at them) before parting ways. Of course, they let their hands linger together until the very last second as they separated from one another, as they always did. When Eliza was out of sight, she switched mentalities entirely.

Work mode. 

She sighed softly and carried on, eyes darting around the room to look at each person she passed, but she managed to stay relatively discreet in the whole thing. Finally, she was in the East Wing, where she was meant to be, and there they were…

Cornwallis had just left them, heading outside with a cigarette in hand, giving her the perfect opportunity to go for either Arbuthnot or Howe. Which, she didn’t know yet, but both would be done in by the end of the evening. The two men stayed close to one another, and there was still no sign of Andre anywhere, so she just went on with what she was doing. 

Soon enough, the two men had made their way outside as well, to the side gardens. With newly refreshed glasses of champagne and tipsy smiles curling their lips, they paced through Martha’s rose gardens, speaking in hushed tones about things Maria wasn’t sure she cared to know. She followed at a safe distance, kept her eyes on them until they stopped and sat at a bench off in the shadows.

Looking around, Maria was pleased to see that the garden shed was nearby already, and that she wouldn’t have much to do once she got ahold of them. 

Thank god, Howe looked heavy. 

She sucked in a breath and tucked herself away where she couldn’t be seen, listened in on their conversations. 

For the first few moments, it was nothing important. Talking mostly about their day jobs, plans that they were making for their weekend, so on and so forth, all boring and tedious. Shit that Maria, frankly, didn’t care about. 

Thankfully their conversation soon shifted to something that mattered to her, and she perked up a bit in interest.

“The Schuyler girl’s got increased their watch on Andre,” Arbuthnot mumbled, sipping at his champagne. Howe scoffed a little and shrugged, causing the other to raise his brow. “You aren’t worried about that at all?” 

“Nah. Schuyler isn’t nearly as capable as she thinks she is.” Howe snorted out a gross laugh, and Maria clenched her teeth. 

Stupid motherfucker would be eating those words.

Creeping up behind them was not an easy task in heels, but Maria, ever the artist of her craft, made due with what she had, having already removed two syringes from a small holster around her thigh and removed the caps. 

As silently as possible, she made her way behind them, moved to inject the first man in the side of his neck. He jumped a bit and swatted at his neck as the needle turned away. By the time that Howe had realized his fate and Arbuthnot had turned to look at him, Maria had done the same to him as well. 

Both men were slumped, the champagne of one tipping and spilling all over his dress slacks, while the other just let his glass fall to the cobblestone beneath the bench. 

With a new awareness to her surroundings, Maria moved as quickly as she could, dragging the heavier man--Howe--along with her. She had not failed to pose the other just enough to make it look as though he were napping instead. Now free of their incessant and idiotic chatter, she dumped the first man off in the garden shed, made quick work of tying him to the chair and double checking the strength of her knots. Taking his size into consideration, she worried the tranquilizer would wear off of him first, and made doubly sure that he was completely secured to his seat. 

After loading him in, Arbuthnot was smooth sailing. 

Soon enough, both men stirred, being met with Maria lounging across from them in another chair, picking at her perfectly manicured nails (thank you, Lafayette) and waiting impatiently for them to stir. Before they could get a word out, she stood, heels clicking on the hardwood flooring of the small building. Arbuthnot seemed to realize what was going on before Howe did, and he let out a low and irate sigh before glancing to the other man, who he obviously blamed for this. 

Maria would have blamed him, too, were she in his shoes. 

“A Schuyler?” Arbuthnot asked with a low sigh, knit his brow and looked back to Maria, who was still standing before them, arms crossed tight and hip cocked just a little bit. She loomed down over them so much that it even sent a chill down their spines, Howe nearly shaking in the seat. 

“I was going to make this easy for you both, but…” Her lips curled upwards, and her eyes drifted to Howe. “Someone had to go and make it harder for himself. Schuyler isn’t capable? We’ll see how Angelica feels about that one…” She tapped her toe on the floor, her finger on her arm. 

_tck, tck, tck…_

“Really, it’s sad. I was going to have so much fun with you both, but…”

 

_tck, tck, tck, shnk._

Maria twirled a delicate little blade in her fingers. Her eyes gleamed, dark and menacing in their way as she looked between the men, trailed her finger along the dull edge of the knife. 

“It appears as though Mr. Howe deserves a little time with Angelica before he goes. What do you say, Arbuthnot?” She nearly purred out the words, tone venomous. Both men seemed to shake under her gaze alone, and the man in question was unable to find his words. Maria’s heels clicked on the wood as she approached. “If you aren’t going to answer me, the least you could do is tell me what you’re up to.. What does Arnold have planned, how are you two involved?” She hummed, the tip of the blade trailing gently along each of their jawlines. 

This was her favorite part of the job. 

“Still no words? You two were talking an awful lot of shit just a little while ago. Why the sudden vow of silence, hm?” She pressed the blade a little closer, nicking the skin. “The more you talk, the less it will hurt, Mariot…” Maria promised in that same silky voice. Neither man seemed to want to budge until she pressed the blade a little closer. Her free hand clicked on her microphone so the others could hear whatever confession he may have given.

“Okay, okay!” He yelped, eyes blowing wide as he tried to push away from her. He was unable to, though, she hadn’t given him much leeway in the knotwork she had done. “You know what’s happening! I’m the head of security, Howe is their assistant! I can’t tell you anything!” 

They could both faintly hear Howe hissing, “Mariot, shut the fuck up!” to no avail. 

“Oh, sure you can, little Arbuthnot. Of course you can tell me more. Where are they hiding, what are they planning? What does Naomi have to do with all of this, hmm? How did you get her involved?” 

“I don’t know who she is, that was all him! They’re operating out by Coney Island, they’re planning a takedown!” He choked out, flinching when the blade bit at his skin again. 

She tutted a bit and pursed her lips. “Is that all you can tell me?” 

“Please, please! It’s all I know!” 

“What a shame…” She sighed a bit, glanced back to Howe before she turned off her microphone. 

She didn’t want Eliza to hear anything else. 

The blade pressed against his neck slowly, tracing down along and digging into his skin, cutting just along the vein as slowly as she could manage. She did her best to ignore the screams of the two men, and she thanked the heavens that the shed was far enough off that no one else could hear them. 

By that point, Howe was begging for his life, babbling on and on about the wife and child Maria knew he didn’t actually have, trying anything in a fit of desperation. She wouldn’t let that fly, no. 

To think, she would have been nice to him. Nicer than Angelica was going to be, at the very least. She was growing a bit bored of listening to Arbuthnot begging though, so she finished it with one deep, swift motion that ended it once and for all, wiped the blade of the knife off on his own suit jacket and watched the light as it left his eyes. 

Sure, it was dark, but hey. 

“What are you planning?” She asked again, glancing back to Howe. At least now he knew she meant business. Not that it was any question in the first place. 

Rather than give a response though, ever trying to be the tough guy after literally begging for his life, he forewent a response and spat at her. 

Oh, Angelica would hear about that one. 

Maria wiped it off of herself with one of the little towels left in the shed, tossed it aside and reached for the first blunt object she could find, gripping it in her hands as she turned her microphone back on. 

“Tallmadge, honey? We’ve got someone in the garden shed for Angie. Could you send a car? He shouldn’t be any issue getting around.” 

_“Of course, Maria. Someone will be around shortly.”_

“Thank you, sweetie.” She turned the mic off, flipped the object, a hammer, it appeared, in her hand, and took a swing as hard as she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow and here i am with five minutes to spare. sorry for the late upload guys, my semester started this week and time got away from me. at least i got it posted though! 
> 
> hopefully you like it, i love writing maria so much u g h. 
> 
> until next time,   
> -krys


	21. Chip On My Shoulder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> torture, a heart-to-heart, and some sisterly love!

The cells underneath Liberty’s Angels were pretty far underground, both metaphorically and literally. Angie had installed three different security checkpoints on the way there, and that was before you even got off the elevator. These were some skeletons in her closet that she did not want to be dug up- especially as they weren’t skeletons quite yet.

She made her way to Howe’s cell, fingering the knife strapped to her thigh as she walked. Knives were normally more of Eliza’s thing, but they did work great for intimidation and interrogation, and Angie was all about those this morning.

Howe looked like he’d gotten as much sleep as Alex generally did, which would be slightly worrying if Angie gave half a fuck about him. She didn’t, though, so she just unlocked his cell and stepped inside, surveying him with a look of distaste.

“Ah, if it isn’t the eldest Schuyler,” Howe greeted her through blood-smeared lips, apparently trying to keep up a farce of arrogance even after Maria had beaten him up. “Are you here for more threats?”

“Not just threats, William,” she smiled, the hint of steel that normally laid in her smile much more present today. “A Schuyler always keeps her word. Now tell me about this takedown, hmm?”

“I don’t know about a takedown,” Howe insisted, and Angelica tutted.

“Lying doesn’t become you,” she shook her head. She pulled a small remote from her pocket, pointing it at the screen in the corner of his cell, and a grainy image of last night appeared. Maria was standing over Arbuthnot with a blade to his throat, and as she hit play, his slip-up was revealed again. “Look at your face as he’s talking,” Angelica hit the pause button, tracing the screen with the point of her knife. “That doesn’t look like confusion, or misunderstanding, or a lack of knowledge.” She didn’t bother glancing back at Howe. She could see his face reflected on the window beside her, mirroring the expression he’d worn as Arbuthnot had been killed. “That looks like the face of a man who knows too much has been said, and that his life is now in danger. 

“Now, you might have thought your life was in danger from those who employed you. But trust me, it’s at far greater risk due to someone else. Someone a little bit... closer.” Angelica turned around, looming over him in her heeled boots. “Make no mistake, your life will end today. I can end it quickly, almost painlessly, or I can drag it out until your screams are heard over at Coney Island.” Howe swallowed, the action looking incredibly painful thanks to the bruises mottling his throat, and Angelica saw a flash of resignation in his eyes. 

“I mean it was mainly Andre’s idea, and we weren’t going to hurt most of you,” he admitted softly. “We were just supposed to take...” He fell silent suddenly, looking like he couldn’t believe what he’d said. Angie stepped closer, laying the blade next to his cheek.

“What was the ending of that sentence supposed to be?” She asked quietly, making her voice sound as deadly as her blade was. He gulped, his eyes darting around frantically. “Trust me, there’s no way out. And there’s no one who cares enough to want you alive, no matter where you think you could go.” She ran the knife down his cheek, a faint red line appearing. “How do you feel about the Joker? Perhaps a smile like that would help get you talking.”

She trailed the knife along his jawline, then used it to cut his shirt off his chest. “I wouldn’t want to stray too close to your tongue, though. I do need you to talk to me.” The shirt was stuck to his chest in a few places, dried blood from last night plastering it to him. Angie flicked off the fabric with her knife, digging the point in a little more each time. Fresh blood started dripping down his chest, and she raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you finish that sentence for me? What are you supposed to take from me?”

“Not a what,” he snapped back, before recoiling quickly. 

“Who, then?” Angie asked, watching him as she ran through a mental list of her employees in her head. She doubted Andre and Arnold were suicidal enough to try to take one of her sisters, and while Laf was a possibility- nobility as well as a threat- he also typically carried enough weapons to outfit an entire army, which Andre and Arnold knew from the times they’d worked with him. Hell, Arnold had been the one handing him those weapons half the time. Of course, it could be her... It would make quite a bit of sense. Kill the head of the snake, and the body can’t function. It would make dismantling her operation much easier, although it certainly would not be easy to take her out, something that Arnold and Andre knew full well. They did, however, have the advantage of knowing the majority of her employees, as well as the way they fought and the way they planned. While they had no way of even suspecting what she was planning now, the advantage they had was still much greater than Angelica would like.

Howe simply watched her, even as blood continued to crawl down his chest, and Angelica laid the blade on his chest, just next to his nipple. “Who are they going to try to take?” She repeated the question, and when he didn’t answer, she slid the blade across, blood welling up and then gushing from the place his nipple used to be.

Howe cried out, and she repeated her question again. This time, she got an answer, and while it was not one she liked, it was a truthful one.

Fortunately, Howe’s lips had been loosened quite a bit by this, and the rest of the answers she needed spilled from him quickly. By the time she was satisfied, he was drained both emotionally and physically, and she was extremely glad that she hadn’t opted for concrete floors in here. The bloodstains would have been much harder to get out.

“Please,” Howe croaked out. “That’s all I know.”

Angelica nodded, holding to his lips the bottle of water she’d brought in with her. He drank eagerly, and the cyanide pills she’d dissolved in it worked their magic before he even had time to realize he was dying.

She left the cells behind as quickly as she could, stopping briefly to inform one of the guards of the need to sanitize Howe’s cell and dispose of him. While he hadn’t known nearly the entire plan, he had known enough that she had more information to work with, and quite a few more details to work into her own plan.

After a brief shower and a change of clothes, she settled down at her computer and sent Alex a text asking him to come see her. His head appeared in her doorway barely seconds later, and Angelica blinked in surprise. “That was fast,” she beckoned for him to come in. “Reading fanfiction on your phone again?”

“It was one time,” he rolled his eyes, but his reply lacked his usual wit. “What’s up? Did something new happen with, ah, Arnold and Andre?” Aside from the brief pause, he didn’t stumble over Andre’s name the way he’d been doing. She hoped it was a good sign.

“You know of William Howe, correct?” She asked. He nodded, and she didn’t bother asking if he knew of him as the military general or as the human trafficker. His disgusted expression answered that question before she could ask it. “Maria questioned him and Mariot Arbuthnot at the ball last night, and she saw fit to bring Howe back to me for more questioning. He had some... interesting things to say.” Something almost like regret flickered in his eyes at the mention of the ball, but he squashed it quickly, his face returning to careful neutrality.

“We’re going to change a few details of our plan,” Angelica informed him. She filled him in on the pertinent changes quickly, although she held a lot of Howe’s information back. It was best if she was the only one to know it, at least for now.

Alex, normally excited by planning and eager to help think of ways to fuck others over, was much more quiet than normal, seemingly lost in a haze of his own emotions and thoughts as he alternated between staring at her carpet and her wall. Unable to take it, Angelica snapped after a couple minutes.

“What happened between you and John at the ball?” She asked, startling him into looking up at her again. “And please don’t try to tell me it was nothing, I just spent my morning interrogating Howe. I am not in the mood to play more games with hidden answers.”

“We kissed,” Alex admitted, although his tone would have been more appropriate to admitting murder.

“That’s it?” Angelica frowned.

“What do you mean?” Alex asked, looking more than a little confused. 

“Normally, one kiss between two consenting adults does not leave either involved party acting like a zombie,” Angelica said dryly. There was a moment of silence, and then- “It was consensual, right? Because I will-”

“-yes, of course,” Alex cut her off hastily. “But it kind of evolved into making out, and then I, well, I ran away from him.” His voice dropped off to a whisper at the end, but he was close enough that Angelica heard him perfectly.

“What happened?” She asked softly. Where her tone with Howe had been sharp, deadly, and wrapped in razor blades, her tone with Alex was caring, interested, and much more human. But then, she wasn’t thinking of this as an interrogation. This was her trying to get a loved one to confide in her, so she could help.

“I couldn’t stop thinking,” Alex frowned. “I felt awful for kissing someone so soon after Andre, and then I started thinking about Andre and how much I hated him, and then I realized that I’m over him, and then I felt bad for being over him so soon, and then I remembered how much of a terrible person he is, and then I just needed to get away and think for a little bit.”

“How did that thinking go?” Angelica raised an eyebrow. Alex shrugged.

“I still have a lot to think about,” he said simply.

“You do,” Angelica agreed. “You also have a lot of feelings, which don’t sound easy to make sense of.”

“The majority of them are about John,” Alex confessed. “The only feelings I have for Andre are negative, but they’re still there so strongly that I’m not sure if I’m ready for a relationship.” He paused. “I feel like that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Not entirely,” Angelica said with a small smile. “But then, I was never all that good at relationships. I never talked to those I cared about, and it ultimately hurt me.”

“So you think I should talk to him,” Alex sighed. 

“I think you should work on communication,” Angelica corrected him. “There’s a difference. But communication, real communication, only happens when you’re ready.” Alex gave a noncommittal shrug, and she shook her head. “You’re done for the day,” she told him. “If you really want to work, you can sort out what people are asking us for, or reach out to arms dealers. We’ll be needing to find a new one. But do it from home, okay? You deserve to relax.” He nodded, and she stood up from behind her desk to give him a quick hug before he left.

“Aw, that was cute,” Peggy cooed as she slipped inside, and Angelica jumped. “Sorry, I swear I wasn’t listening for long,” the youngest Schuyler laughed. “I just wanted to come check on you, see if there’s anything I can do to help out around here.”

“Not really,” Angelica shrugged, surreptitiously closing one of the files open on her computer. “It’s mostly just rehiring, and training the new hires, plus getting more security protocols in place. We can never have enough, especially in our current situation.”

“Alright,” Peggy perched on the edge of her desk, stealing Angelica’s mug of coffee and taking a sip. “Who are you hiring? Laf showed me some of the security you used at Uncle George’s ball, I think you should hire the Strong girl.”

“Why?” Angelica asked, pulling out the folder with Anna’s information in it. “Did something jump out at you?”

“Yeah, she’s really cute,” Peggy grinned. 

“She’s also fifteen years older than you, and married,” Angelica reminded her younger sister. “You couldn’t think of anyone closer to your own age? What about that girl from the bookstore a couple blocks down, didn’t you have the hots for her?”

“She’s straight,” Peggy groaned. “All the good ones are.” Angelica tried not to snicker at her sister’s dramatics.

“Plenty of cute girls are queer,” she told her. “You just have to find the right one.”

“Like you’d know,” Peggy scoffed. “When’s the last time you went on a date?” Angelica’s mind flashed back to the last time she’d met up with Dolley, a month or so ago. They’d spent most of their time in bed, then gone out for a quick coffee before they’d both had to rush back to their separate lives. She wouldn’t really call it a date, but it was the closest she’d had in... Well, a while. Damn, Peggy was right.

“Can you really not remember?” Peggy smirked. “You really are married to your work, sis. I don’t think you’ve even taken a vacation in a couple years.”

“At least it pays,” Angelica shrugged. “And I went to Hawaii three months ago!”

“Yeah, so you could help smuggle a weapons shipment back here,” Peggy snorted. “That so does not count.”

“I went snorkeling, and I biked down a mountain,” Angelica tried to defend herself. “Those are vacation activities, right?”

“I think you phrased it as ‘acting-like-a-tourist-so-I’m-not-suspicious’ activities, actually,” Peggy reminded her. 

“Whatever,” Angelica rolled her eyes, knowing full well she had no more arguments. Peggy was right again, Hawaii had been much more of a business trip than a vacation. “Let’s go find Eliza, shall we? I’m starving, and I want to kidnap her for a sister lunch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed! it's the longest chapter yet, and my first torture scene ever (eeek)!! comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated, feedback is wonderful <3  
> also, krys posted the first side fic in this universe! go check it out, they're an amazing writer and the fic is a+


	22. Soon You'll See

“Caneton!” Lafayette chirped brightly, coming up behind the youngest Schuyler girl and hugging her close to his chest, kissing her head before he ruffled her curls. “I have a surprise for you! I am going to take you out today on a very important job!” 

Peggy, at this point in the morning, was still half asleep. She was overly-full from yesterday, a sister’s lunch becoming a sister’s afternoon becoming a sister’s evening and dinner, then a sister’s movie night and ice cream date. Needless to say, it was a lot. 

Nice, though. Very much needed. Angelica needed it the most, though, and who were Eliza and Peggy to deny her anything when she was finally agreeing to relax? 

Anyway, back in that moment. Peggy yawned and leaned back against Lafayette, gave a small smile. “Really? That sounds spectacular. What is it?” 

“Reconnaissance on Arnold, then tracking one of his suppliers after they meet. Nothing too hard, but very important. I would like to have two angles on this one, and you are the only one I trust to be my, um…” He paused for a moment to think of what he wanted to say, then he sat up a bit straighter. “Oh, my ‘Eagle Two’!” He grinned bright and squeezed her again. 

Peggy could only think that this was the perfect time for her to prove herself to him after the ball… 

“I would love that, Lafayette. Please.” She squeezed his hand now, smiled bright right back, and stood to go get herself ready. 

~~

Even the most tedious jobs were made better in the company of Lafayette. 

Using the information Maria had extracted from Arbuthnot, the two had set themselves up for the day at Coney Island, and they were blended in quite well thanks to Hercules and his makeup expertise. It was easy, really, to follow the crowd, bob in and out until they caught sight of someone Laf hadn’t seen in years. He gasped and ducked back into the crowd, extremely thankful now that he had brought Peggy along. The woman he caught in his glance wouldn’t recognize her… 

“What’s wrong?” The younger knit her brow, glanced to her mentor and noticed the strange tension. 

He gestured vaguely, Peggy turning the opposite direction (as was their code) and caught sight of a woman she had never seen before, light pink sweats and a raglan shirt, backwards baseball cap and sunglasses. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and her posture in and of itself was entirely business. Peggy hated to admit it, but there was definitely something intimidating about this girl. 

“Who is that?” She frowned, knit her brow. 

“Naomi.” 

Oh, shit. 

Laf ducked into a bigger crowd, tucked himself away with them and followed the ebb and flow of tourists to keep on her tail, at least a little bit. Peggy stayed close to his side, and they both hesitated once they saw her slip off into an alley, into a door. 

Into a warehouse tucked easily into the chaos, disguised from the boardwalk view as a couple of kiosks selling various fair foods and tourist goodies. Laf expected that they would be hiding in plain sight, but this was just fucking _obscene_. He looked around, watched closely, knit his brow just a little bit and turned back to face Peggy, clearly annoyed by what he had seen. 

“Running a trafficking ring off the _boardwalk_?” He hissed, mostly to himself, irritated by this entire thing. This was horrible. 

She knit her brow as well, tugged him of to sit at a bench across the way. “Okay, what do we need to do?”

~~

Not much longer, they were set up in positions, blending in as tourists still but located in the precise locations to watch every movement from the warehouse, watch the flow of people vanishing in, half as many coming back out. Soon enough, Laf went tense, glanced across the way to Peggy. He could see Andre approaching the warehouse, looking worse for the wear compared to the last time Laf had seen him. Definitely not a bad thing, though. He looked stressed, really stressed. He looked like he was under extreme pressure, and he knew that the time was running out. 

Good. 

Fucker. 

Laf stayed low, watched him rush into the warehouse. Other people scurried in and out at random, but nobody of note. Laf never did see Andre come back out. 

He was snapped from those thoughts as he heard something behind him, screwing, then a soft click. A silencer being attached to a small pistol.

Lafayette whipped around, feeling a cold chill go straight down his spine as the adrenaline started to rush through his system. His eyes blew wide when he caught sight of the man behind him, standing tall and rigid, gun aimed right at Lafayette. 

“So good to see you again, Gilbert.” That shitty voice lilted out, lips curled into a snide smirk. Laf’s stomach lurched. He didn’t hear him approach, had no idea where he could have come from. This was bad. 

“John Andre. I wish I could say the same.” He frowned, trying to ignore the racing of his heart, the pounding of his pulse in his ears. His hand started to reach for his belt, slow and discreet, hoping Andre wouldn’t notice, but alas.

“Do you really think you’re in any position to do that, darling Gilbert?” He mocked, finger slipping to rest on the trigger. “Drop your hand.” 

So of course, Laf did as he was told. 

God, whatever happened next, he just hoped Peggy wouldn’t see. 

Andre took a step closer to him, looking him over with scrutinizing, cold eyes as he tapped his toes against the ground. He let his head fall to the side just a bit before he sighed. “You and Angelica, the whole operation... It’s sad how hard you’re trying, but you know we’ll always be one step ahead of you. Sure, you got the upper hand at the party, but… I just hope that was nice for you while it lasted. We will get you back for Howe, Arbuthnot, and you’ll be hurting more than that hurt us.” His tone was thick, full of a disgusting self-righteousness that Laf had never heard in anyone beside Andre. 

The only proper descriptor, strange as it was, was ‘slimy’. Made Laf feel filthy just hearing it.

“That was always one of the biggest flaws you all had, you know? Growing attached, growing sentimental... Treating your workers as if they were human instead of the expendable pawns you know they really are.” Andre sneered, pressed the barrel of the silencer to Lafayette’s forehead. “You know, it really has been nice catching up, but I’m sure Arnold is expecting me soon. Adieu, Gilbert.”

He pulled the hammer back on the pistol, but before he could pull the trigger, he was being thrown to the ground, and in the flurry of movement, all Laf could catch was the gun firing, a body being thrown to the ground, and someone running off. 

In the second he had taken to come back to himself, he had lost Andre and in his place, bleeding and paling quickly, found--

“Peggy!”

Laf fell to his knees at her side, gasped and carefully lifted her into his arms. She was still breathing, thank god, and the bullet seemed to have missed anything vital, though it had gone clean through her left shoulder. He pulled her close, felt his eyes well up with tears he didn’t want to let fall as he stripped off his coat, held it to the wound and applied pressure. “What were you thinking, caneton?!” 

Peggy gave a bit of a dazed smile, curled closer to him and let out a sharp gasp at the pain it caused. “You think I was gonna let him take you out?” She responded, trying to sound tough despite what Laf was sure had to be an excruciating amount of pain. She was strong, but that had to have been a lot. He squeezed her hand to help her stay grounded, cradled her close and looked around to assure that they were safe. 

He lifted the girl into his arms, looked around again and noted that they were alone, thank god, and he hurried out to a more crowded location, using his headset to call Angelica as he did.

Upon seeing Peggy, everyone around them cleared the path, started whispering amongst themselves as they rushed to the entrance to the boardwalk. 

After what seemed like eons, but was only two or three rings, Angelica finally answered. “Lafayette. Status report?” 

“We need a medic.” Laf sounded frantic, panicked more than she had ever heard and definitely more than he should have been for a simple recon mission. 

“What happened?” She tried to keep her cool, but she was on the verge of losing her control, he could hear that much in the wavering of her voice. 

“Peggy’s been shot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, sorry for the delay in posting. I got really busy yesterday, but hopefully we can keep to the schedule still after this.
> 
> hopefully y'all like it!
> 
> until next time,   
> -krys


	23. Another Sleepless Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The LA employees find out the news, and everyone rushes to the hospital.

John scrolled through his email, searching for the most recent weapons inventory that he should’ve been copied on. Tallmadge, who was taking over some of Arnold’s duties, had asked about it, but apparently John had never received it. He really hoped it was a “was-sent-to-Angie-only” mistake as opposed to an “Andre and Arnold are still fucking us over” mistake, but he was leaning towards the latter at the moment. Everyone knew to copy John on weapons-related correspondence, he was generally the one who handled the interactions with arms dealers. If he wasn’t finding it by now, it probably did not exist.

John leaned back in his chair with a sigh, pulling out his phone to text Angie. He hated to bother her with this, she was stressed out enough already, but if there was a chance that Arnold and Andre had somehow gotten into the LA emails, then they had a major problem. 

Well... more of a major problem.

Before he could text his boss, however, John got distracted by a different text.

**a.ham:** _Hey, can we talk?_

John swore his heart stopped beating for a second, and a million different scenarios raced through his head, each more drastically ridiculous than the one before. He tried to stay calm, and he hoped against hope that it was not about the kiss in the library. It was probably something work-related, right? That had to be it. They were co-workers, after all.

**j.law:** _yea, are u at la today?_

“Yeah, I am,” Alex responded from behind him, and John nearly dropped his phone in his surprise. He swiveled around, probably looking like a child in his spinny chair, to see Alex standing over him.

“Hey,” John said softly, noticing the bags under Alex’s eyes, more prominent than they usually were. “You wanna sit?”

“I kinda like being taller than you,” Alex pointed out, the ghost of a smirk on his face. “But sure.” He dropped into the chair on the other side of John’s desk, the smirk slipping away only to be replaced by uncertainty.

“What’s up?” John asked. Alex fidgeted for a second, and John resisted the urge to lean forward and tuck back a loose strand of hair.

“I wanted to talk about what happened at the ball,” Alex’s voice was barely above a whisper, but John heard him clearly. What he also heard clearly-- and had just about as much desire to hear-- was the loud shriek that came from Angie’s office moments later.

Both John and Alex shot out of their chairs on instinct, sprinting towards her office and pulling out a weapon each as they ran. They nearly collided with Herc in the doorway, who had apparently been running towards the office from the other direction and was brandishing a roll of fabric like a baseball bat.

“What’s going on?” Herc and Alex asked simultaneously. John couldn’t see any sign of a threat in the office or the surrounding area, but Angelica was rushing around it like a madwoman, shoving papers and weapons alike into a large purse. 

“Peggy’s been shot,” she gasped out as she turned to face them, tears streaming down her normally composed face. John’s heart sank, remembering the happy girl from this morning. She’d been so excited to train with Laf, what had happened? Judging from Angelica’s reaction, it had to have been something awful. “John, let Tallmadge know we need extra security on the club. I’m putting it in lockdown effective immediately, everyone out front needs to leave. I’m going to the hospital to see her.”

“We’re coming with you,” John said immediately. The Schuylers were like family to him, they’d taken him in when no one else would, and he knew Alex and Herc felt the same way.

“Eliza’s downstairs, I can go let her know and take her with me,” Herc offered, and when Angelica nodded tearfully, he rushed for the stairs immediately.

“I have to go, meet me there.” Angelica ordered. “George is in Arnold’s old office, he needs to know what happened.”

“I can tell him,” Alex reassured her. “John, why don’t you go with her? I can catch a ride with Herc or George, or drive myself.” John nodded, and Alex mouthed ‘take care of her’ at him. John nodded again-- of course he would-- before turning to go, practically sprinting to keep up with Angelica. She skidded to a stop in front of her Benz, digging her keys out of her pocket, but John snatched them away from her quickly.

“Give me my keys, I have to see my sister,” Angelica’s glare could probably have killed someone, but John simply brushed past her and slipped into the driver's’ seat.

“I’m not letting you drive, you’d get us into an accident in your current state and then we’d have two Schuylers in the hospital,” John mustered up as much calm as he could, knowing it was what she needed right now. “Get in, and let’s go.” Her glare intensified, but after a moment her need to see her sister overpowered her qualms about letting someone else drive her car, and she slipped in with an incredibly sharp “Drive. Now.” 

The drive to the hospital, which John made at 40 miles over the speed limit, was shrouded in tense silence broken only by Angelica’s sniffles as she tried to pull herself together. John wasn’t sure what to say, not wanting to risk her wrath if he said the wrong thing while she was so obviously emotionally vulnerable, so he opted for silence. When they arrived, she jumped out of the car before he could even slow to a stop in front of the entrance. Miraculously not falling on her face, she dashed for the doors leading into the emergency room, and John parked the car hurriedly to follow her in.

By the time he caught up with her, she was pleading with the receptionist (mostly unintelligibly thanks to her sobs), who looked unsure of what to do and more than a little frightened. John stepped in front of Angelica a little, apologizing to the receptionist. “We’re looking for her little sister, Margarita Schuyler,” he explained. “She wouldn’t have been admitted more than two hours ago, there should have been a man with her? French accent?”

“We’ll need her to fill out some forms for us, and then we’ll have to wait for them to be processed,” the receptionist informed them. John could practically feel Angelica’s anger growing, and he moved so that he was completely blocking her from the receptionist.

“Did you hear the name Schuyler in there?” John asked, letting his icy stone-faced “politician mask” slip on. “As in, the Schuyler wing of this same hospital? Their father is Philip Schuyler, the Senator whom the wing was named for after his more than generous donations. This is Angelica Schuyler, a well-known CEO who has also contributed significantly to the success of this hospital. I recommend you let us through now, unless you’d like to see what happens when you anger one of your most important financial backers.” The receptionist’s face grew paler throughout his speech, and by the time he was done, she was nodding frantically. 

“She’s in, ah, room 12,” she hurried to appease them, flipping through some papers. “That’s down there to the left, the doctors will-” John and Angelica were gone before she could finish the sentence, nearly knocking down a nurse as they rushed through the hall in search of the youngest Schuyler.

They found her room within seconds, brushing off the doctor who tried to stop them, and joined Laf at her bedside. The Frenchman was staring down at his protege, his face lined with shades of grey that John had never seen on him before.

“What happened?” Angelica choked out as she collapsed onto a chair next to Peggy’s bed, taking one of her sister’s hands in her own. Peggy was extremely pale, which wasn’t exactly an easy feat for her and her her dark skin tone, and practically drowning in the much too large hospital gown she’d been put in. Bandages peeked out from underneath the gown, and it looked like they were wrapped around her left shoulder and upper bicep. There was an IV in her arm, and one of her fingers had been placed in a heartbeat monitor, but there were no tubes in her mouth or nose, which John was taking as a good sign.

“It was just supposed to be a simple mission,” Laf explained, not looking up from Peggy. Eliza raced into the room just then, freezing as she caught sight of Peggy laid out on the hospital bed. Herc, following her in, nearly bumped into her, but caught himself just in time. Eliza sank onto the edge of Peggy’s bed, reaching out to hold both of her sisters’ hands. “Just some recon on Andre and Arnold, taking pictures on Coney Island to see if we could figure out who else they were working with. We were watching Andre, but then he must have found a way out without us seeing. He had a gun on me, and he was going to shoot me, but Peggy got in the way first. She tried to fight him, and the gun went off.” His eyes filled with regret, and John could tell instantly that Laf was blaming himself.

“Angelica, I understand if you want me to resign,” Laf said quietly, taking his eyes off of Peggy for the first time since they’d come in. “I can leave Liberty’s Angels, you won’t ever have to see me again.”

“What are you talking about?” Eliza asked softly, her voice thick with tears. “No one wants that, Laf.”

“She was trying to save me, it’s my fault,” Laf argued. “I should have-”

“It’s not,” Angelica cut him off. Laf looked surprised that she wasn’t agreeing with him, and John was more than a little surprised that she hadn’t gone off on him yet. This was the most coherent she’d been since she heard the news. “As much as we all still see her a child, she’s an adult, and she chose to get involved. That doesn’t mean I’m not furious with you, because I am,” she added. “You should have told me you were taking her out in the field for her training today, so that I could have had backup in place and a better communication set-up. But it’s not your fault. It’s Andre’s, and he will pay dearly for this.”

The room fell silent then, all of them focusing on the deathly pale girl lying in the hospital bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter :)  
> Comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated! Krys will be back soon with the next chapter  
> -indi <3


	24. It Couldn't Please Me More

Everything was chaos. 

Controlled, at least, but chaos nonetheless. 

Maria had never been this wired before, and she had been through some intense shit. In the past twelve hours, Lafayette had been face to face with Andre, Peggy had been shot, and now they were all being faced with the realization that Alexander was nowhere to be seen, and a panicking John. 

She swore to god, if she heard John say “It’s my fault” one more time that they would be looking for him, too.

Everything was turning into mass chaos, and the unfamiliar territory of Peggy’s hospital room, combined with the empty feeling the offices of Liberty’s Angels now held, it was sickening. Those bastards had managed to get under everyone’s skin, get everything on high alert, and where the fuck were they? Somewhere on fucking Coney Island, sharing cocktails and cigars and laughing about the plights of the Schuyler Family. 

Sure, Maria knew that wasn’t true, and that the two had been with the gang long enough to know that what had just happened took this to a whole new level of “being in deep shit”, she knew that Andre was hiding like a damn rat, scared for his fucking life, but she couldn’t help but let her mind go to the absolute worst images. 

Especially when she knew they had Alex, too. 

It was the only thing that made sense, after all. Alex wouldn’t have just vanished like that. Maybe when things were more relaxed, sure, he would just fuck off every now and then, but right now? There was no way. Especially when Washington had reported to the girls that he never even _saw_ that shitty little gremlin man. 

He would never give up an opportunity to speak with Washington, even if it was to deliver terrible news. 

So that’s how she landed herself there, getting ready to go out and save his dumb ass. 

She had suited up as she usually would, gotten herself ready to go, and was just about to step out the door when she heard an all-too-familiar voice, soft and wavering under the stress of everything that was happening. 

“I’m going with you.” 

“No you aren’t.” She turned around on her heel, knit her brow and sighed. “It’s too dangerous.” 

Eliza stood before her, suited up and ready to go. She looked distraught still, and why wouldn’t she, but there was something new there, a look in her eyes that Maria had never seen. 

Anger, hatred. Very un-Eliza Schuyler traits. All things considered, though, Maria couldn’t say she was surprised by it. 

“Maria, you saw what happened, you saw what that bastard did. If you think I’m letting you go alone, you’re dead wrong.” She took a step closer, not threatening, and took Maria’s hand. 

“You could get shot,” Maria protested softly, knit her brow and sighed. 

“So could you.” Eliza insisted, squeezed her hand gently. “I’m not letting you go alone, don’t for one minute think that I’m going to risk him doing to you what he did to Peggy.” She had never used that tone with Maria before. Scolding, maternal… Scared. 

She had never heard Eliza sound so scared. 

“There’s no way I can talk you out of this, then?” Maria sighed.

“Absolutely not.” 

“Alright, fine.” She finally said, knit her brow. “Does Angelica know?”

“Do you think she would let me come if she did?” 

Okay, that was a fair point. She nodded and knit her brow, then looked over Eliza. “Do you have any weapons?” 

“The ones Herc gave me before the gala. Now come on, we’re wasting time.” 

Maria surrendered to Eliza’s will, reluctantly, and hurried her out of the apartment. 

~~

 

Needless to say, Maria was on edge being on their playing field after dark. Sure, they had Tallmadge and Samson waiting for them, necessary backup that hopefully wouldn’t be deployed, but backup or no, this wasn’t looking good. It was too dark, too quiet, and she hated having to be separated from Eliza under these circumstances, but they certainly couldn’t be walking in tandem. That could have given them away immediately. 

Thanks to the little bit of intel Laf had gotten before the incident, they had a pretty good map of the area, locations of their security cameras, and a majority of the points they could use to hide out. Maria had memorized that map, and made Eliza do the same before they got out of the car. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get past the security detail that was posted, and they already knew where to look to--hopefully--find Alexander. If not find him, at least find something to lead them to him. 

The pier was eerily quiet, even for the middle of the night, and everything about it was leaving Maria with a bad taste in her mouth. She turned around just a bit, trying to get a visual on Eliza, but there was no such luck. She had always excelled at the stealth training she had gotten, George would always express his pride on the matter. Maria tried to convince herself that it was a good thing that she couldn’t see her, and turned to go back to her own work. 

She hadn’t seen anyone enter or leave any of the associated buildings, which was honestly proving to be one of the most irritating aspects of this day, but she shook off that feeling and just went back to her post. Something would have to give eventually. They couldn’t hide out in there forever. 

For the time being, she pulled out her camera, started taking photographs of the surrounding area, the best that she could managed considering the darkness, and tried to get a better view inside of the main building. There must have been something in there that she could catch, some sort of movement or a hint, even Arnold or Andre. _Anything_. 

There was no such luck, though. She set her camera back down and rubbed her temples, knit her brow. This was going to be a long night, and she definitely wasn’t looking forward to it. 

About an hour into the stakeout, Maria was starting to get antsy. The stress of it all was scratching away at her, and not knowing exactly where Eliza was had started taking a bit of a toll on her. She never lost her focus, though, just kept watching, waiting. Anything could happen at any moment. 

She was honed in on the door, listening to the surroundings and watching every movement that she could. 

She didn’t even hear anyone approaching until it was too late, and she felt something swing and hit her upside the head, knocking her out cold.

~~

Maria was seeing stars by the time she regained consciousness, and despite the pain in her head, the first thought she had went back to Eliza. She didn’t know where the other was when she had received whatever blow had knocked her out, and she only hoped that the other had managed to get away safely. Maria tried to move, but soon found that she was bound rather tightly to a chair, similar to how she had left Arbuthnot and Howe at the gala, and a soft sigh left her lips. 

Great. 

Trying to shift her weight wasn’t easy, and she soon heard someone approaching. Her body tensed, eyes narrowed, and she was met with a sight that she hoped never to see so closely again. 

“Miss Lewis, my oh my, it’s been _ages_ , I thought you would at least have the courtesy to write...” 

Oh, son of a bitch. 

“John Andre.” She knit her brows and she looked over the man standing in front of her. “I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you again…”

He let out a cold laugh, walked around her. He was nervous, she could tell that much in the way he carried himself. He wasn’t stupid, he knew what he had done wrong. He knew the Schuylers were now after him even more intently than they were before. His mannerisms said enough, despite the cocky demeanor he was trying so hard to put on. Maria’s vision came completely into focus, and she immediately honed in on the blade he was twirling in his hand as he paced back and forth before her. 

“Always so angry, Maria. I would have thought little Eliza could have taught you to relax by now. It must be so difficult for her in all of her whimsy, dealing with you constantly bringing everything down.” 

He was lucky he had tied her down. She tugged at the tethers and narrowed her eyes, trying to escape, but it was no use. 

“Apparently our message with little Margarita didn’t come through, hm? You’re still here, trying to be some sort of hero. Was it because we left her alive? Maybe we should send a better message this time…” He knelt down so they were at eye level with one another, a gross smirk resting on his lips. She couldn’t believe he was trying to play that off as though they had planned it, but she supposed she would be grasping for straws too if she were in his position. 

He shifted a little bit, let the tip of the blade just brush against Maria’s skin. It was sharp enough that the gentle drag of it pierced through her and drew the smallest trail of blood in its wake. Maria stayed stone cold, though, just watched him with narrowed eyes and a frown. She wouldn’t be swayed so easily, and if this is where she died, so be it. She wouldn’t let him see any fear in her features, she wouldn’t give that bastard what he wanted. 

“Oh, so now it’s the silent treatment, Maria? Really, I thought you were more grown up than that…” He chided, shrugged a little and stood again, paced for a moment and stopped in front of her yet again, the blade still tight in his hand, raised up to her throat again. “Well, if that’s how you want to be, then I don’t see any point in playing games. I thought you would have been fun, too. Goodbye, Miss Lewis.” He said softly, ignoring her struggling against the ropes. 

She recognized the cold of the blade against her skin, pressing just enough to bite at the skin. She let her eyes close, tried to muster all the strength she could when she heard an all-too-familiar sound, a very soft one… 

_Click_. 

_**Bang!** _

Liquid splattered over her face, and she heard a loud **thud** as something heavy toppled to the ground. 

The pressure was away from her neck. 

It took her a moment, but she opened her eyes, wary of what she might see in front of her. 

And it was the last thing she expected. 

Eliza stood just a few feet away, pistol extended in both hands, which trembled almost violently. Maria’s pupils went wide when she took this in, her jaw dropped just a bit before her gaze slipped to Andre, now on the floor with--oh. 

She never knew how good her girlfriend’s aim was. 

She watched the blood pooling around Andre’s head, the knife now on the ground beside his body. 

Serves the fucker right. 

Eliza dropped her pistol and hurried over to Maria’s side, grabbing the blade from the ground and slicing at the tethers on her wrists and ankles, helped her stand and step over Andre’s limp body before she pulled Maria close, uncaring that the blood all over Maria was now covering both of them. 

“Are you okay?” She asked, her voice small and her brows knit. “Please tell me you’re okay.” 

Maria squeezed her hand and gave a small nod. “I’m fine. Thank you for that.” She said gently. The two would definitely have a lot to talk about after this… Maria gently wriggled away, crouched down and checked for Andre’s pulse--better safe than sorry. “Can you…?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.” Eliza fumbled just a little, turned the headset on. “Benjamin, sweetheart? Yeah, I think we need some help down here. No, everything is fine. Thank you, sweetie.” 

So, they didn’t find Alexander, but… 

Maria glanced back to Andre, felt her stomach churn with anxiety, anger, even a little bit of fear. 

At least he was done for. At least it wasn’t a complete failure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so sorry for the late update. I think I'm getting sick, plus my workload is already insanity with my classes. I'll try to stick to the schedule though, promise. 
> 
> I rushed to get it done before tonight, bc i'm off to see clipping. in like four hours??? holyfuck. <3 
> 
> Hope y'all like this chapter, let us know! Comments and kudos mean the world to us. <3 
> 
> Until next time,  
> -krys
> 
> EDIT:  
> YA BOI MET DAVEED DIGGS, YO


	25. It's Quiet Uptown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angelica receives a guard, a visit from the DemReps, and a gift-wrapped surprise.

Angelica paced around Peggy’s hospital room, glaring daggers at the phone lying on her sister’s bedside table. The phone that hadn’t rang since Tallmadge had checked in an hour ago, informing her that he’d just dumped the pieces of John Andre’s body into the Hudson. It had rang half an hour before that, Maria’s voice uncharacteristically weary as she told her boss that she was taking Eliza home for some much-needed rest and that Andre wasn’t a worry any longer. Before that, well...

Normally, this line didn’t ring more than once a month. It was one of the most secure lines in the world, and only her most trusted employees and family had the number. She used it for only the most important missions, the ones big enough that she went into the field herself. Now, she was using it for what was probably the most important mission of her life. Saving her family.

“Staring at it won’t help anything,” Laf said softly, and Angie had to repress a flinch. She’d almost forgotten he was still in the room with her, sitting next to Peggy and holding her hand carefully. “What is it you say? A watched weed never boils?” She nearly choked on her own spit.

“A watched pot,” Angie corrected him. “How did you get weed from-- right, you used to date John. That fucking stoner.” Laf chuckled weakly, his gaze still on Peggy. “She's going to be okay, the doctors have said so several times,” Angie said in a gentler tone. “It’s just the waiting, it's killing us all. That, and the not knowing.” 

With André dead, and the information she’d gotten from Howe (as well as the intel Deborah Samson was extracting from Andre’s phone), there were now only two things they didn't know. Where Alex had been taken, and where Arnold was hiding out.

Of course, they were probably the same place. Tallmadge had taken Townsend and Anna with him to scour Coney Island, and apart from a colony of rats and a lot of bloodstains, they hadn't found anything interesting. The three of them had taken some samples of the blood back to LA, where they were testing it for matches with Alex’s DNA. Anna was pretty sure it wasn’t his, considering how old most of it appeared to be, but Angie wouldn't let them take any risks on this.

She’d nearly snapped earlier, driven insane by the sheer amount of noise, people, and work happening in the crowded hospital room. Eliza had been flitting around mother-henning everyone to death. John had been standing in the corner on his phone, making the necessary calls to make sure this stayed out of the news. A nurse had been flirting with Laf, who had been ignoring her in favor of talking to an unconscious Peggy in French, and Herc had been chatting with a different nurse at a mile a minute. He’d had a seemingly endless stream of questions, from everything to a recovery time (“she should be able to resume normal activity in a couple months”) to whether or not he could play with the new babies (“absolutely not”). He’d turned to Angelica to say something about the babies, and she’d snapped back that she “didn’t care about the goddamn babies, I care that my baby sister could have fucking died!” 

The room had fallen silent then, Laf perking up just enough to take charge. Everyone else had been kicked out of Peggy’s room, and ordered to get some rest. They were all either back at LA, or home getting some much-needed sleep. Laf and Angie had stayed at Peggy’s bedside, and Eliza would join them after some rest (and probably a talk with Maria, considering what had happened with André earlier). 

When a brisk knock sounded on the door, Angie half-expected it to be John again. He’d been trying to convince her to let him go search for Alex, but as John was currently running on sleep deprivation, adrenaline, and pain, she hadn’t thought that was a good idea. If Tallmadge or their security system didn’t pick up anything after 24 hours, she’d let John go-- assuming he had gotten some rest, per her orders.

However, while the head that peeked into the room did have curly hair, it was not her favorite little Gryffindor shithead. “Jefferson,” she tried to fix a smile onto her face, but his eyes widened almost comically, and she dropped the pretense instantly. “How did you find out?” She asked tiredly, beckoning him in. Madison was with him, as was another man, who she didn’t recognize. Laf pulled a gun from his jacket as soon as the unfamiliar man entered, aiming it at him. “Who is this?” Angie eyed the newcomer warily, thinking about the gun she had tucked into the back of her pants.

“Nathaniel Greene,” he introduced himself, looking not at all fazed by the presence of Laf’s weapon. Angie was more impressed by the fact that he didn’t appear fazed by the deadened eyes featured in Laf’s stare. “I’m the bodyguard politicians call in when shit goes sideways.”

“Laurens asked me to send a guard for you,” Jefferson explained. “He’s working to keep this out of the public eye, due to your connections... both political and otherwise. But in case something goes wrong, Greene is just a bodyguard for a politician’s daughter who might have made some enemies.” 

Angie considered Greene for a second before nodding. She was sure he knew at least a little bit about what really went on at LA, but that wasn't really a bad thing considering their current situation. If she was going to have a guard, it had to be someone who wouldn't underestimate her or her enemies. 

“Fine, so I have a guard now,” she sighed. “I appreciate your help.” She held eye contact with Jefferson for a long moment. “I trust that you know to keep the current situation quiet, and I know that you'd like to do more to help. But I need you to stay out of it. You don't know the full scope of the situation, and the stakes are high right now. I have it under control.”

“Just promise that you'll ask for help if you need it,” Jefferson requested. “I know you hate doing so, Angie. But even you need it sometimes.” His eyes flickered over to Peggy, and for a second, Angelica was reminded of the first time she'd met him, when he had been one of George’s secretaries. He’d been softer then, not quite the quick-witted man in front of her now. They hadn't been friends. They still weren't, really. But they’d always had a mutual understanding of each other, and they had always helped the other when they could.

The first time Jefferson had met Peggy, she had been training with George. The two had been sparring in the LA gym when Alex had dragged Jefferson down there, hoping George would settle a debate over the intention of a law Congress was trying to pass. Unfortunately, Peggy had mistaken Jefferson for Laf, and thrown a water bottle at him to get his attention. Where Laf would have caught it easily, Jefferson’s reflexes weren't quite as good, and it had beaned him in the side of the head.

When he'd come to, Jefferson had been faced with a small girl who was frantically apologizing, in between asides of “why does he look so much like Laf?” He'd brushed off her apologies, careful not to let her see his wince of pain, and told her that any friend of Laf’s wasn’t too bad in his book-- even if they did hit him in the head with a blunt object. From time to time, he’d ask Angelica about her, always referring to her as “the small Schuyler.” They’d never been particularly close, though; it was more of him checking in on her, out of curiosity and partially probably due to a desire to stay in Angelica’s good graces. Angelica wasn’t too surprised he’d come to visit, though. Gunshot wounds did tend to draw people closer together.

Angelica was drawn out of her thoughts by a nurse entering the room, a carefully reassuring smile on her face. “I have flowers and a gift box for a Miss Angelica Schuyler,” she informed them, and Angelica stepped forward to take them from her. “Visiting hours will be over in just a couple minutes, so if you want to wrap up...” she trailed off as her eyes caught on Jefferson, obviously recognizing him, and she backed out of the room slowly without saying another word. Angelica rolled her eyes, scanning the tag on the bouquet critically. It was in Arnold’s handwriting (either that, or a damn good forgery of it), and simply read “hope Peggy gets well soon. -BA.”

“We’ll leave you to it,” Madison murmured, stepping forward and gently steering Jefferson towards the door. “Call if you need anything, I hope her recovery goes smoothly.” They shut the door behind them, and Angelica was left alone with Peggy and Laf... And her guard. That would take some getting used to.

“What’s in the box?” Laf asked curiously, leaning forward.

“Somehow, I doubt it’s chocolates,” Angelica sighed. She unwrapped it carefully, holding it a little bit away from her body just in case. Nothing sprang out of it, though, so she peered inside-- and promptly recoiled.

Nestled in crushed black velvet was a very familiar tanned hand, Sharpie doodles still decorating the pinky. Alexander Hamilton’s hand, but very much not attached to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry


	26. Wicked Little Town

Lafayette was shaken after everything that happened. He couldn’t get the image out of his head, the look on Angelica’s face, that sound of the broken gasp she gave when she opened the box. That sound just kept replaying through his mind, and the vision of Alex’s hand, cold, pale, seemingly drained of blood was burned into his retinas. 

After all of this, he never wanted to see Angelica Schuyler cry again. It was too much. She was such a powerhouse, so incredible, non-stop power and grace, seeing her cry was like seeing buildings collapse, like watching the Statue of Liberty fall to her knees and drop her torch; a beacon of hope that Lafayette had always known crumbling to ash. 

Seeing Angelica cry was the worst punishment Lafayette had ever faced. 

He had to stay strong, though, despite everything. For her, for Peggy. 

For Alex. 

He finally mustered the strength, stood on wobbly feet and gripped her shoulder gently, guided her to the now empty chair by Peggy’s bedside. “Rest. I will handle this.” He said, his voice broken and wavering. He kept it together the best he possibly could until Angelica looked up at him. 

Through the pain in her eyes, there was a fire, a venomous hatred he had never seen before. “Don’t you lay a goddamned hand on Benedict Arnold, do you hear me? After everything that son of a bitch has done, I’m going to take care of him myself.” She hissed, words ending in a choked sob. She nearly dropped the velvet lined box, Lafayette reacting just quickly enough to catch it. He had no idea what to do with it, so he just held it tight, closed the lid. “You tell me where that fucking monster is the second you find him, Lafayette, do you understand?” 

“Yes. Yes, anything, Angelica, please, just be staying here, do not move.” His frantic mindset made English harder and harder to find, so he just elected to be silent, bow his head and rush out of the building with the box clutched tight in his hands.

He couldn’t spare another glance back to Angelica, let alone one to their posted security, at risk of breaking down and crying again. 

When he was outside, he reached for his phone, tapped out with shaky hands, _“10-25 LA”_ , sent it to John, Hercules, Maria. Another second, another message; _“10-19, hospital, extra security.”_ this time to Thomas and James. 

He didn’t even wait for a cab, just ran all the way back to the club. This was bad. 

~~

After receiving a message from Thomas and James (security had been tripled, watch posted outside, someone was after the person who delivered the little surprise), Lafayette was able to relax enough to pour himself a cup of water, fall down in his desk chair and wait for everyone to arrive. 

Maria was first, no Eliza in sight. Hercules followed, and about five minutes after, John came rushing in. Laf couldn’t even be mad about his timing, considering he was probably uptown in Alex’s apartment, looking for _anything_ that could help them out. With shaky _everything_ , Laf stood, sucked in a breath and looked to them all. He was distraught, sure. Scared of what would happen next. But everything considered, he was keeping it together pretty well. 

“Just spit it out, Laf, we don’t fucking have time!” John snapped, causing Mulligan to reach back and smack him upside the head.

“Oi, you think you’re the only one who’s having issues here, Laurens? You think we aren’t all hurting? Calm the fuck down.” He hissed, eyes narrowed in a look that could kill. 

It was a shame that he wasn’t a field agent, really. 

Another deep breath, another glance at the box still gripped tight in his hand. He couldn’t bear to hold it anymore, handed it to Mulligan. 

“We have a bit of issue.” English still evaded him without additional thought.

“No shit!” John snapped again, but the looks he received from the other two put him back in his place quickly. Laf shared a look with Hercules, and the man opened the box, visibly recoiled and let out a sharp curse. Maria peeked over and blanched. Laf thought John was going to vomit.   
.  
“It isn’t--” Maria began, but Laf nodded. John gestured to the sloppy handwriting, just a few letters peeking past the wrist and onto the back of the hand. 

“When did this happen?” He asked, finally looked back up to Lafayette. 

“We… We do not have way to knowing.” Laf choked, shuddered a little and had to look away from the box. He fell back into his seat, glanced so he only saw their faces. “It is Alex. Arnold sent word.”

John stood, forcing himself away from the box. “So we have to go. We have to find him, we--” 

Maria interrupted him, gently manicured finger raising in a shushing gesture. “Need to be careful. Need to calm down. You can’t do anything if you’re panicked, besides get your ass caught and lose more than your hand.” It wasn’t like John to surrender, but in the moment he had no other choice. He settled back into his seat, reached over to close the box. 

“We need to be careful.” He said softly, parroting Maria’s words and tone. “Where is Angelica?”

“Still with Peggy in the hospital. I dropped Eliza off there to be with her. Jefferson and Madison are both on duty outside the room, and there’s security posted all over the hospital.” Maria explained, careful of her tone still. “Lafayette, do you want--” 

“ _Non_ , I will handle. I can go.” He insisted softly and bit his lip, looked at them. “Hercules, Maria, please watch the club. John…” He gestured to the door, and John stood almost obediently. They didn’t want to waste any more time, not with the intensity that was just poured onto the whole ordeal. It only took a few more moments for Laf to relax enough to stand, begin getting his gear ready. Maria had done most of the work, setting everything out for them and helping Laf put everything on when she noticed how shaky his hands still were. 

A short pep talk from Maria and Hercules, a kiss on the cheek from the former and a hug from the latter, then they were on their way out. They had gotten word from Jefferson that the man who had delivered the “present” had been seen headed back towards Battery Park, and it looked as though he was on his way to Pier six. Almost immediately, they were on their way. 

After years of experience, they could blend in just about anywhere. Sneaking around in dusk was no issue for either party, keeping eyes on their surroundings and ears open for any unusual sounds, nothing new. John’s anxiety, however, the shaking of his hands and the panicked hitch in his breath… That set Laf on edge, even closer to tipping over than he had been before. 

Soon they were… Not soothed, necessarily, but definitely pleased to be overtaken by the scent of saltwater, and the breeze from the pier was blowing John’s curls all about (Laf had his pulled back tighter than usual to keep just such a thing from happening). Now, the hard part. 

Finding the building that Alex was being kept in was proving already to be difficult. None of the area streetlights seemed to be doing their job, making the pier darker and much more intimidating than it had any right to be. The two remained dead silent, spared a glance back to each other and a simple nod before they split up.

They had separated for quite some time, and when they had regrouped, there was nothing to show. John was beginning to grow more and more anxious. Laf took his hand, squeezed it gently, did his absolute best to comfort his closest and dearest friend. It didn’t seem like it was going to be enough. “One more look?” He suggested in a muted whisper. 

John nodded, squeezed his hand and began to tug him along. 

Every building looked empty, no lights were on in any that they could see, and no sign of foul play rested anywhere. Even Laf was beginning to consider giving up by then, until he heard shuffling, very faint, in one of the buildings as they passed by. He froze in his track, held Laf in place, listened for anything else. 

They could make out murmuring, a familiar sounding voice but nothing that either could recognize immediately. A low hiss seemed to follow it. John and Laf pressed their ears closer to the wall, finally managing to catch something, anything… 

_“You just don’t seem to know what you’re in for, do you?”_ The voice hummed. _“You know, if you would only cooperate then this can be incredibly easy for you.”_

 _“Oh, go fuck yourself!”_ Another voice spat. John’s heart started to race, his eyes blew wide and he mouthed a name he longed to call for. He barely contained himself, needing to know what was happening, whether or not it was truly who he hoped it was.

 _“Ah, well… If that’s how you want to play it, then be my guest.”_ Everything went silent, just for a moment. They had no idea what was going on until they heard it; unmistakable, clear as day. Sharp as whatever pain was being inflicted behind closed doors--

Alexander screamed. 

A wail they had never heard before, a wail they hoped to never hear again. 

Whatever was going on was worse than they initially anticipated. 

Another scream, blood-curdling, cold as ice, broken and rasped from aggressive abuse on the vocal chords. 

Whatever was happening, they needed to put a stop to this immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry.
> 
> -krys


	27. The Morning Report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically a retelling of the previous chapter, but from John's POV and with some added snippets. Hope you like!

_”10-25, LA”_. Laf’s text left out even the hint of information, but John didn’t need details. He needed Alex, and he was pretty sure that was what the text was about. So instead of continuing to search Alex’s apartment for clues about where he could be (a fairly fruitless search considering the several hours he’d already been here), he dropped everything and sprinted to the club. He slammed past security and straight into the back offices, where Laf, Maria, and Herc were already waiting. 

Laf was shaking where he stood, clutching a black box in his hands and staring down at it like it contained all the demons Hell had ever held. Maria was bouncing anxiously on her toes, occasionally reaching down to one of the guns strapped to her thighs as though she was checking that it was still there. Herc was facing away from John, unmoving as he stared at a picture of Alex that was on Laf’s desk.

John waited semi-patiently for a minute or so, trading confused glances with Maria, while Laf continued to stand there silently. He didn’t seem like he was going to tell them why he’d rushed them all here, much to John’s anger. He could be out searching for Alex right now, or hunting down Arnold, or doing anything productive.

“Just spit it out, Laf, we don’t have fucking time!” John snapped eventually. He couldn’t take any more of this sitting still and waiting, he needed to take matters into his own hands and go find Alex or punch something.

Herc turned to glare at John, smacking him upside the head. “Oi, you think you’re the only one who’s having issues here, Laurens? You think we aren’t all hurting? Calm the fuck down.” His voice came out in a hiss, and the look in his eyes was deadly. John swung his gaze back onto Laf, but he still didn’t say anything. Instead, Laf took a deep breath in, looking like he thought it might be his last. His eyes dropped down to the box he was holding, and then his lips twisted in a grimace and he passed it to Herc.

“We have a bit of issue.” Laf bit out, his English obviously impacted by his stress, and John scoffed out a “no shit!” Herc and Maria both sent him death glares, though, and he backed down. It wasn’t fair to Laf to go off on him, he was obviously hurting badly too. 

Laf and Herc shared a look, and then Herc finally opened the box; only to promptly recoil, a harsh curse falling from his lips.

John didn’t remember much of the meeting after that. All he could think about was the stark image of Alex’s hand, outlined in messy Sharpie handwriting and ingrained in his brain. There was no doubting it was Alex’s hand, unfortunately. John had stared at it often enough, admiring Alex’s long and slightly crooked fingers as he typed up reports or the way his wrist tightened when he gripped a gun. Besides, Arnold had apparently “sent word,” and John really didn’t want to think about what that entailed.

Not long after making a quick plan (but far too long for John’s liking), he was making his way down Pier Six with Laf by his side, the two of them blending into the shadows easily while they scanned for any sign of Arnold or Alex. When they hadn’t found anything after a while, they shared a quick look before separating without saying another word. John went towards the water, while Laf disappeared into a little alcove between a coffee stand and a public bathroom. John’s eyes caught on the coffee stand, and it was all he could do to keep moving and not just collapse.

Alex had never really had much of a routine, not beyond “write like I’m running out of time and avoid sleep at all costs” anyways. But every morning, without fail, he had a mug full of coffee on his desk. He cradled the mug in his hands while he worked, gulping down the little bit of coffee he’d combined with flavored sweetener. The mug got refilled several times throughout the day, until at dinner it was filled with black coffee.

John had always been fascinated by watching Alex progressively wake up throughout the day. He would trudge in like a zombie in the morning, clutching the precious drink and his computer, his fingers moving slowly over the keys. Come lunchtime, he was a normal human being (or as close as Alexander Hamilton got), shaking his wrists out and complaining to John about how he was going to get carpal tunnel soon-- in between sips of cafe con leche, of course. By dinner, Alex would be completely wired, tapping his nails against the handle of the mug until someone begged him to stop. 

But now, that hand was lying in crushed velvet in a freezer at Libertys’ Angels. And while it wasn’t Alex’s dominant hand, it would still be a process for him to readjust to life without it. That is, if he would even get to live without it... Before he could stop himself, John’s thoughts were drifting to the worst case scenario. Alex already gone and lying underneath the waves next to John, Alex’s broken body in a cell somewhere, Alex’s blood coating the walls of some abandoned warehouse. 

Laf rejoined him silently, his presence a welcome distraction from John’s thoughts. Laf slipped his hand into John’s, and he leaned against his friend gratefully. “One more look?” Laf whispered, and John nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak, and he didn’t want to risk discovery, anyways. So he just tugged Laf down the pier quietly, both of them scanning the buildings around them.

Half an hour later, they hadn’t found anything, and while Laf looked about ready to give up, John was adamant that they had to keep searching. Luckily-- or perhaps unluckily, really-- they heard faint noises from the building next to them just then. They froze, nearly hugging the side of the building in an attempt to hear better.

When he heard Alex’s voice, John wanted to rush in straight away. Laf held him in place, though, and they listened to his tormentor talk for a moment. Then silence, and then-- then came the worst scream John had ever heard. He struggled to get out of Laf’s grip, but Laf only tightened his hold on John’s arms. 

“You don’t have a plan,” Laf hissed, pinning John against the wall. “You know Angie’s rules, we need a plan.”

“I do, it’s storm the fucker,” John shot back, trying to duck under Laf’s long arms and failing. “You heard that, you heard Alex scream! We have to get in there and help him, we don’t know what they’re doing to him!”

“Exactly,” Laf sighed, and he looked like he’d aged ten years since yesterday. “We don’t know what’s going on, and we need to get Angie in on this.” John glared up at him, but Laf stared him down, still holding him there, and John acquiesced after a couple moments.

“Fine, we’ll call Angie,” John snapped. “But I’m going in there once she okays it, you hear me?”

“I’ll be right by your side,” Laf promised, letting John go but keeping an eye on him. John leaned back against the wall and called Angie, his eyes darting around to make sure they hadn’t been spotted during their little scuffle. No one was around, let alone interested in them, and he was quickly distracted from his surroundings again when Angie picked up after half a ring.

“Did you find them?” Were the first words out of her mouth, and John winced. 

“We definitely found Alex,” he replied. “And he’s alive, but we have to hurry to keep him that way. Get over here, now.”


	28. What Comes Next?

Eliza had never been this panicked in her life, and she hated it. 

Her baby sister was in the hospital, one of her very best friends was missing… It was all too much. It was so… So scary. She knew, of course, what they were in for when this had all begun. She knew what they were doing, and what the potentials were. Of course, deep down she always knew that this could happen. 

She just never thought it would. The world had turned upside down. 

When she looked over Maria’s shoulder to see the code (Laf only used codes if shit had gone miles beyond hitting the fan), everything seemed to go dark. The gentle mood created between the girls had become thick and heavy, feeling more tar-like than anything they had felt before. Eliza knit her brow and sighed. She knew what needed to be done, but it always hurt when work made the girls separate. 

Soon enough, they kissed softly outside of the hospital and Eliza watched Maria leave in a hurry, off to the club to handle whatever else had just got sideways. 

Eliza slipped upstairs, showing her ID to the posted security (that was new, and a bad sign), slipped past Jefferson and Madison right outside the door, and joined her sisters. It broke her heart to see them--Peggy still pale in her bed, Angelica finally broken down, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was holding onto Peggy’s hand as tight as she safely could, barely managed to look up at Eliza when she walked in. Finally, she let out a sigh. Forced a smile. Looked back between her sisters. 

“Shit’s gone sideways, Liz.” Angelica said, voice soft and broken. Eliza sat on the edge of the bed and took hold of Angelica’s other hand, squeezed it gently. 

“What happened, why was everyone called?” She asked softly, afraid to know the answer. The look in Angelica’s eyes was enough to strike the fear into her, but the response was worse than she ever could have thought. 

“Do you really want to know?” Angelica asked, voice gentle. Eliza hesitated, but nodded. She couldn’t help if she didn’t know how. “We.. Got a package. A bouquet, Thomas already disposed of it for us just to be safe, and.. And the package had…” She hesitated. Shaky breath in, gentle exhale, eyes cast down. “Alexander’s hand.” 

Eliza was going to be sick. Her brows knit together and she squeezed Angelica’s own a little harder. It took a moment for to recover from that, but once she did, she managed to ask, “His hand? How--”

“Left, he can still write when we get him back.” The certainty in her tone when she said ‘when’ gave Eliza hope. Of course she knew her sister wasn’t going to give up, but it was nice to hear it regardless. 

She was thankful that she didn’t have to see that herself, but unable to even imagine what it must have been like for Angelica. Just receiving the news was enough to raise bile in her throat, make her head spin and her eyes water. 

When Angelica finally looked up again, the fire was slowly returning to her eyes. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” She said gently, glancing at Eliza. The middle Schuyler knew how much the eldest hated uncertainty, so this must have been killing her. “I wish I did, I wish so badly that I could tell you what’s happening, but.. But now we have to wait. It’s up to Lafayette to find Alex, to find Arnold. But the second he does, he’s going to call me, and I’m going to take care of it.” Her words were stronger than she was in that moment, but her tone was cool, as calm as it could be. After all of this, all this shit, she was going to settle it. 

Eliza always looked up to her sister for that reason. Even in the heat of the chaos around them, she was always strong. She could stay strong even when the shit hit the fan and horrible things like this had occurred, no matter what, Angelica Schuyler could clear her head enough to find some way to fix the situation. 

The Schuyler’s sat in silence for awhile, the only sound in the room being the gentle beeping of Peggy’s heart monitor, the soft electric whirring of all of the machinery. Angelica had her eyes locked on her cellphone, Eliza’s locked on Peggy. She looked more peaceful than she should have. Eliza wondered what kind of pain she had gone through, what kind of struggle she was undergoing underneath the machines, behind closed eyes. 

The girls were all shaken from their revelry eventually, the ringing of Angelica’s phone snapping them back to reality. 

She grabbed it like a flash, answered and didn’t even look at the caller id. “Did you find them?” 

“We definitely found Alex, and he’s alive, but we have to hurry to keep him that way. Get over here, now.” Eliza could hear the static of the call, barely able to make out the words that Lafayette spoke, but before she could even think, Angelica was on her feet, putting her weapon back on her hip and scrambling for anything else she may have needed. Angelica hung up the call without saying goodbye, pocketed her phone after silencing it. 

“We have to move.” She said softly, glancing to Eliza and finally hesitating. “Do you want to go with me?” She asked, bit her lip gently and shifted her weight a little. 

After everything with Andre, it would make sense that Eliza may want to sit something like this out, but without any hesitation at all, Eliza stood up, took Angelica’s hand. 

“I’m with you every step of the way, Angie. Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello hello! 
> 
> okay so this chapter is hella short but it gets the point across and I didn't want to drag out "we're sitting in a hospital" ya know? 
> 
> so yeah here we are. 
> 
> life news? ya boi won tickets to opening night of Hamilton in San Francisco tomorrow night and i cried like a BITCH when i got the message. 
> 
> until next time,   
> -krys


	29. Work, Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex is rescued!!!! And, some revenge :)

Angelica and Eliza made the trip to Laf and John in near-silence, punctuating it occasionally with quiet reassurances that Peggy would be fine. She would be, of course, she’d been stable for a day now, but that didn’t make it any easier to leave her behind-- no matter how much security they left her with. Still, she’d be safe with Greene, and she’d sent Anna, Tallmadge, and Townsend over to help guard her too. She’d dismantle Arnold’s operations after taking him out, but until she knew for sure that everyone associated with him was gone, she wasn’t taking risks with Peggy.

She also had confirmation from Peggy’s doctor that the hospital would call her first thing if there was any update, good or bad. She was rather hoping that the doctor would be the one to call, she could do with some good news right now-- and good news from a beautiful woman was even better. The wonderful Dr. Bartow was, surprisingly enough, Aaron Burr’s ex (the poor woman). She and Angie had gotten to talking while Dr. Bartow was checking on Peggy, and had bonded quickly over their disgust for Burr. Apparently, it was while dating him that Dr. Bartow had realized she was a lesbian, which reminded Angie quite a bit of Dolley and James Madison. She’d almost started trying to set them up together, before talking to Theodosia a little more and discovering that she’d much rather try to set herself up with the angel of a doctor.

Unfortunately for Angelica, though, she had to clean up the current situation before she would be in any position to ask Theodosia on a date. Until Arnold and his associates were taken care of, everyone she cared about was at risk from them... Which brought her back to the present, as Eliza parked a block away from the location John had sent them. The sisters leaned across the console to give each other a brief hug, both of them needing the support (although they’d rather be in Peggy’s position than admit it), before heading over to where Laf and John were leaning against the side of a building.

Or rather, Laf was holding John against the side of the building, and if she didn’t know that their relationship had been purely platonic for a couple years now, she would definitely be suspicious. As it was, however, it looked much more like Laf was holding John back than like they were about to start kissing. As they drew closer, Laf straightened up and let John go, nodding a silent greeting to the sisters.

“We’re sure this is the building?” Eliza asked quietly, scanning it. It didn’t look like much, appearing to be a simple office building. But Angie had heard John’s voice on the phone, and he’d been terrified of whatever they’d heard from inside.

“He screamed,” John whispered, his eyes filled with fury and fire. “He was normal, snapping back at someone, and then they did something and he-- he screamed.” His voice broke on the last word, and Angie didn’t even want to think about what that scream must have sounded like. Somehow, she knew she’d be having nightmares about it for months to come anyways.

“It was Arnold,” Laf piped up, pulling a gun from his waistband and checking to make sure it was fully loaded. “We didn’t hear anyone else, and there’s no other cars or signs of movement. I’m pretty sure it’s just him. He’s hurting Alex, but we haven’t heard anything more than whimpers in five minutes.” Angelica nodded, trying not to dwell too long on what that could mean. If they’d taken another body part from him...

“We’re going to split up,” she informed the other three, grabbing her own gun from inside her jacket. After a moment’s thought, she took out another one. Just in case. “Laf and John, you two stick together. Your mission is Alex. Find him, bring him to the hospital, stabilize any wounds that you can along the way. The second you have him, you leave, got it? I don’t care what situation I’m in, you get him out. Eliza and I can take care of ourselves.” They nodded, exchanging a glance, and John rummaged in his backpack for a moment before pulling out a machine gun. 

“Please try to use something with a silencer,” Angelica sighed. “I don’t want to deal with the police for cleanup.” John exchanged it for a revolver, with a slight pout.

“We’re taking out Arnold, then?” Eliza checked, and Angelica gave a terse nod. “No one hurts our Alex and gets away with it,” Eliza agreed. “Let’s show him what the Schuylers are made of.”

“It sounded close,” John informed her. “I’d say no higher than third floor, very possibly the first.” 

“We’ll go in through the first floor, then,” Angelica decided. “John, Laf, you’re climbing in through this window.” She indicated the window a couple feet down from them, which wasn’t too high off the ground and would be easily opened. “Eliza and I will slip in through the back door, it shouldn’t be too hard to find. We’re going in without coms, we can’t risk them hearing. Be careful, be safe. Get Alex and get out.” John nodded, and Laf was already moving towards the window with a knife in his hand.

Angelica and Eliza found a door easily enough, and a bobby pin from Angelica’s bag was enough to jimmy the simple lock open. The sisters shared a brief glance, each of them flicking the safety on their gun off before Eliza pushed the door open and they stepped inside.

 

Inside, they could hear the whimpers that Laf had mentioned. It sounded like they were a couple rooms away, and after taking a moment to let their eyes adjust to the dim lighting, the sisters crept through the space silently. They were moving through what looked like a space for cubicles, but it had been emptied out, with only the occasional filing cabinet along the walls. Angelica made a mental note to come back and check the cabinets for anything relevant, before moving on to peer down the nearest hallway.

One of the doors farther down the hall had light spilling out from underneath the closed door, and while the whimpers had trailed off, Angelica was somehow certain that Alex was behind that door. Something in the shadows just beyond the door shifted, and Angelica pressed herself a little closer against the wall while raising her gun. Behind her, she could practically feel Eliza reaching for one of her throwing knives.

A hand signed the letters LA at her, though, and John peered back at them from where he and Laf were also hiding against the wall. He motioned at the door, and Angelica nodded, creeping forward so that she and Eliza were on one side of it and Laf and John on the other. Laf mouthed “3, 2, 1” at them, and then John kicked the door down and they were striding in with their guns held high and their backs to each other.

 

Benedict Arnold dropped the butterfly knife he’d been holding, grabbing a gun instead. All four of them trained their own weapons on him, but he wasn’t aiming at any of them. He held the gun calmly to an unconscious Alex’s head, staring Angelica down as he did so.

“Hello, Angelica,” he actually had the nerve to smile at her, as though none of this had ever happened and he was back at LA filing a mission report. “Sorry to hear about your sister, although I’ve been told she’s recovering nicely.”

“Yes, I’m sure the minion you sent to the hospital told you all about it,” Angelica returned his smile, although hers was a bit more like baring her teeth. “Nice little trick you pulled there, with his hand.” His arm was wrapped loosely in red-stained bandages, and she swallowed down a grimace at the sight of it. Despite having undergone an amputation with no anaesthesia or proper care, it looked like the best of his wounds. Blood was pouring down his other arm, dripping from where Arnold had apparently been cutting into his shoulder. A knife had been left where it had been stabbed into his stomach, blood slowly oozing out from around it, and it looked like nearly all of his toes had been smashed by the hammer lying on the floor underneath him.

“Alex,” John whispered, his voice sounding as broken as Alex’s toes.

“Oh, I'm sure he’ll heal,” Arnold said dismissively. “Or maybe not. I don't care, really.” John cocked his gun, but Arnold shook his head with a smirk. “I don't think you quite realize the situation. You see, the instant you pull that trigger, I pull this one, and your little Alexander here goes bye-bye for good I wouldn't care too much, but I think you would.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Angelica could see Eliza shaking with rage. Her younger sister had a small pistol in one hand and a throwing knife in the other, her knuckles white around both of them.

“So, what will it be?” Arnold looked at Angelica, who glared back as she started thinking of ways to let her sister use that knife. “I'll give you Alex, and you let me go, or you can kill me, and I'll kill him.”

“No thank you,” Laf cut in. Arnold glanced over to him in bemusement, and John took advantage of his distraction to turn the lights off.

When the lights went off, a couple things happened in quick succession. There was a loud thud, and then a scream, and then a gunshot, and another scream, and then searing pain was ripping through Angelica’s lower stomach. The lights flickered on again as suddenly as they'd turned off, and she instantly raised her gun as she took in the scene in front of her.

Arnold was slumped against the wall with Eliza’s knife through his shoulder, and a bullet embedded in the wall next to him. John was swinging Alex up into his arms, Laf standing in front of them protectively, and Eliza was standing over Arnold with a murderous glint in her eye.

Angelica ignored her own pain (really, of all the times for her period to start?) as she stepped forward to stand at her sister’s side. John carried Alex out of the room, Laf following and closing the door behind them.

“Angelica, please,” Arnold begged, his smile gone now that his bargaining chip was as well. He was ghost-white underneath his tan, thanks to the blood loss from the wound, and his eyes were fearful as they darted between the two sisters. “Remember all the work I did with George, remember all the good deals I made for you-”

“I remember what you did to Alex, you fuck,” Angelica snarled, shooting him between the eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long to rescue alex!! they were working on it, i promise   
> we're super close to the end! just three more chapters and then the epilogue :D hope you guys like the rest of it! comments and kudos are always appreciated


	30. Love Me For What I Am

Chaos. All this had been was complete and utter chaos. Lafayette was sure he hadn’t left the hospital in at least a week, staying there every second since they had gotten Alexander there safely. Alex had yet to wake up, and it was definitely taking a toll on everyone, so Laf remained. He spent the majority of his days pacing between Alex’s room and Peggy’s, eyes ever vigilant and on high alert.

Peggy had since woken, and she had become stable quite quickly, but the medical staff just wanted another day or so to make sure she would remain in such good condition before they let her go home. Angelica, happy at this news and much more relaxed, was taking this opportunity to chat up Dr. Bartow a little more. Laf was happy to see her start opening up more and more. Her sister was okay, the enemy ops were crumbling, and everything was starting to look up. 

After they had returned to the hospital with Alex, Angelica had left the dismemberment of Arnold’s operation to Jefferson and Madison, who were happy to take the job and get the rest of Arnold’s workers behind bars. Luckily, most of the names the two men shared went unrecognized to Angelica and Lafayette, save for one Naomi Rodriguez. As a show of good faith and friendship, Thomas and James kept up the security around the hospital, saw to it that Angelica was eating, and they even brought Peggy her favorite food when she woke (with the permission of Dr. Bartow, of course.) 

Everything was going right, for the first time in a while, and they were going to hold onto it as long as they could.

There were a few things that were still bothering Laf, though, and of course Peggy caught it the second he peeked into the room. She gestured him closer to the hospital bed, pat the side of it and gave a little smile. “Come here and sit down, you look like we need to talk.” She sat up straighter, didn’t wince as much as she did the previous day, or even as much as she had with the previous movement. She was getting better fast, and honestly that was enough to get a smile from Laf now. 

He sat at the foot of her bed, legs tucked beneath himself, and sighed. “All of this has gotten my brain rushing, caneton. I never realized how much was truly at stake here. Not until you got hurt, until Alex…” He trailed off just then, stomach tightening and mind going a little fuzzy. He hated thinking about that, hated knowing that he wasn’t there to stop it or protect Alex like he always thought he could. “I feel like there is so much to do, so much that I should say, but I cannot yet find the words or the heart to say any of it.” He shifted a little, sighed and dropped his gaze down to the blankets and playing absently with a loose thread. 

“Is this about what I think it is?” She cocked her head just a little bit, lips falling into a slight frown. “Laf, come on.” She nudged him gently with her foot, knit her brow just a little bit and sighed. “You need to talk to him, you know that. As soon as possible. He’s coming in tonight around dinner to check on Alex, just…. Take him into the hallway and talk to him, okay? For me?”

Laf hesitated for a moment before he nodded, bit his lip, sighed. “Alright, let me go and check on Alexander, I will stop him before he can leave, okay?” It was obvious how nervous he was, but he was doing his absolute best not to allow himself to overthink the situation. 

Peggy pat closer to her side on the bed again, gave a small smile as Laf moved to her side. She leaned against him comfortably after kissing his cheek. “It’s going to be alright. I don’t think you realize how much he cares for you, too.” 

“If you’re sure, caneton. You owe me ice cream if this does not end well.” He said with the smallest smile, which earned a gentle laugh from Peggy. 

“Of course. But when he says yes, you owe me ice cream instead. Now go get your man.” 

~~

Laf did as he was told, pacing around Alexander’s room for the majority of that afternoon. He only stopped once the man in question arrived and stood in the doorway. Concerned about his friends, carrying a basket of food, Hercules Mulligan hovered just outside of the room. He immediately looked concerned at the sight: Lafayette pacing about like a madman and John holding onto Alex’s hand like it would be as gone as the other if he let go. 

Laf immediately stopped, glancing over at Herc and giving a small smile of his own. “You’re here.” He said softly, voice almost cracking. He was so nervous. John didn’t even look up at the other man until he nudged him. 

“Yeah, I am. To make sure you knuckleheads eat.” Herc said gently, finally smiled back and set the basket down, pulled out the boxes of takeout to set on the small bedside table. “Has he made any progress?”

“Oui. His heart rate is more stable, all of his wounds have stopped seeping. He hasn’t woken up yet, but he seems to be more at peace now.” Laf bit his lip and gently rubbed Alex’s shoulder. 

John looked up just then, nodded. “It’ll take time, but Dr. Bartow says he’ll make a full recovery.” His voice was soft, sort of subtle and weak, but much stronger than it had been even an hour ago (when Laf had all but demanded that John speak to him). Finally, _finally_ , John was smiling, just a bit, but the thought of Alex being okay was enough to bring a little bit of that light back into his being. 

Hercules was smiling bright again at the assurance, and he gently brushed a bit of Alex’s hair from his face, knowing it would have annoyed him were he awake. Then he nodded. “Alright, I should be heading back to the office, check and see if everything is going alright with Maria and Benny.” He hummed just a bit and smiled back to Laf after patting John’s back. 

“Wait,” Laf grabbed his hand, couldn’t bring himself to look into his eyes anymore. “Can I speak with you in the hallway before you leave?” He asked lightly, knit his brow a little bit and shifted his weight. 

Hercules seemed surprised, but he nodded. “Oh, yeah. Of course. What’s up?” He asked gently, leading Laf out of the room and carefully, quietly, shutting the door behind them. Laf was busy twiddling his thumbs, shifting his weight and looking anywhere but at Hercules until the other gently put his hand on Laf’s shoulder. “Laf? You can tell me anything, you know that, right?” 

“Oui, I do.” He nodded a little and bit his lip. “I… I just…” He sucked in a deep breath, let it out slowly and composed himself the best he could. “After all of this, it just.. I have finally realized how dangerous all of this truly is, how easily we can lose somebody that we care for, and… I feel as if that should deter me from speaking out, but it does not, and I need to talk to you about something..” He said gently, bit his lip once more when he finally looked into Hercules’ eyes. “I do not know what this job could bring, what could happen, but I want you to know that I really do care about you, more than I have said before, and I… I would like to, if _you_ would like to, go out to dinner or get drinks and… If you feel the same way, I would like to give a chance to us.” His English began dwindling when he got more flustered, but he didn’t stop speaking until his point was across. 

Hercules seemed to be shocked into a stilled silence, but he didn’t look away. In fact, he took hold of Laf’s hands as a smile stretched across his face. “You know, I think I would really like that. What do you say, when all this is situated right and when everything calms down, when Alex and Peggy are both home and safe… We go out on a date. We can go out for dinner and give this a chance.” 

Laf grinned bright and nodded, squeezed Herc’s hands and bounced on his toes. “Oui! That sounds… C’est magnifique!” He could barely contain his excitement, and he leaned forward to peck Hercules’ cheek, earning a soft laugh and eagerly returned affection. 

“We’ll plan this weekend, okay? You deserve to rest until then. Peggy and Alex will be fine. Try to relax for a while, okay? I really do need to head back to the office.” Herc said gently, squeezed his hands. “I’ll see you tomorrow, though?” 

“Oui, of course!” He nodded and kissed his cheek one final time, then waved him off. 

He went back into Alex’s room with a new bounce in his step, and the knowledge that he owed Peggy ice cream the minute she was out of the hospital. 

~~

By the end of that week, Peggy was healthy enough to go home, and Alexander was well on his way to that point. Dr. Bartow predicted just another week for him after that, and everything should then be back to normal. She was happy to sign Peggy’s release forms, and couldn’t help but laugh at the fuss the youngest Schuyler gave when she was told she would have to leave the hospital in a wheelchair despite her improved state. 

“It’s hospital policy, Peggy. Nothing against you.” She laughed and squeezed the girl’s uninjured shoulder, then gave a small smile. “I know you can walk out of here, but I don’t want to lose my job.” It was clear she was playing, and it was nice that the woman had such a light and airy sense of humor considering her career. 

After a thankful goodbye, and what Laf was certain to be Angelica getting Dr. Bartow’s number, they helped Peggy into the car and started on their way back to the Schuyler estate. Peggy was more than excited to be heading home, bouncing just a bit in her seat though she leaned against Laf most of the time. Angelica and Eliza were comfortably in the front seat, both glancing back at her whenever they would stop at a red light. 

“So, celebration of your freedom, what do you want for dinner?” Eliza asked with a sweet smile. 

“That depends,” Peggy hummed, giving a grin over to Laf. “What happened last night?” 

Laf felt his cheeks heat just a little, and he glanced back out the window. “I am sure I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Don’t play coy, mister!” She laughed and prodded at his stomach playfully. “Did it work!” 

He groaned and gently swatted the onslaught of pokes, jutted his lip out in a pout. “Mon dieu! I surrender! _Abandon_!” He laughed loudly as it became more tickles than pokes, and tried his best to curl up with the seat belt in the way. “It worked, it worked! _Arrête_!” He squealed, unable to breathe between the laughs and pleas for freedom. 

 

Finally, Eliza reached back and caught Peggy’s hands, laughing herself. “Play nice, my goodness! What did that have to do with anything?” She chuckled fondly, held Peggy’s hands just to be safe as Laf regained his breaths. 

“It means that I won the bet, and I want ice cream for dinner.” 

“Ice cream?” Eliza raised her brow, but didn’t question further. 

“Yeah. Laf’s treat. Free ice cream tastes better.” 

“You are a crook.” He pouted and whined, but his hands quickly went to the defense and covered his stomach.

“And you always call the losing bet. Not my fault you suck at gambling.” Peggy grinned, and he couldn’t help smiling as well at that. The light was back in her eyes, and the life back in her movements. He couldn’t even complain that he was going to end up buying ice cream for all the Schuylers, because no price could be put on Peggy’s health and happiness, and he was willing to give anything he could to see that smile stay on her face. 

His little duckling was happy, healthy. 

Everything was going to be alright after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo, we're getting close to wrapping up and putting a nice little bow on this baby, it seems. Thank you all for sticking with us and reading, for all the sweet comments and the kudos you've given. I never thought that this silly little idea I came up with and shared with Indi could ever grow into what it is now. So really, it means the world. Thank you. 
> 
> I'm also trying out something new, and I started a twitter and instagram for my fic stuff? I'm not sure how it'll work, but check it out if you're so inclined. @paperthinrevolutionary on insta and @paperthinpages on twitter. 
> 
> until next time, with love,   
> -krys


	31. We're All In This Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking Alex home, burning some bodies, and a couple background gays.

Alex was released from the hospital a week after Peggy, on a dreary gray morning that was the polar opposite of everyone’s mood. Eliza and Laf were vibrating with excitement on either side of John as he wheeled Alex out the hospital doors, and Peggy was waiting impatiently by Angie’s car. Alex grinned at the sight of the youngest Schuyler, who had giant “congratulations” balloons tied to the sling around her arm.

“I didn't know which balloons to get,” she confessed as they drew closer, leaning down to give Alex a one-armed hug. He kissed her cheek in response, and John almost had a moment of jealousy before remembering their sibling-like relationship... And the fact that it was none of his business. At all. “The ‘get well soon’ ones seemed kind of cliche, and Angie’s car isn't your home, so I didn't want to get the ones saying welcome home. But John insisted we had to get you something, so, congratulations!” 

“Thanks,” Alex chuckled, eyeing Angie’s car. “Are they going to fit in there with all of us? The boots kinda take up a lot of room.” John glanced down at his feet, which were both encased in medical brace boots while his fractured toes healed. They reminded him of the boot Bella had had to wear to prom at the end of Twilight, which he should probably avoid mentioning to Alex. The man got way too excited about Twilight. 

“We can just put you in the front seat, it has plenty of leg-room,” Peggy pointed out. “Sorry Laf, you and your long legs will have to put up with the back seat.”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Laf shrugged. “As long as Alex is comfortable.” 

Eliza nodded in agreement, setting Alex’s crutches in the trunk and opening the passenger door for him. “You ready to get out of the wheelchair?” She asked, a sympathetic look on her face. Alex had been complaining about being in it for the last five hours, and he’d only been in it for the last ten minutes. 

Sure enough, Alex nodded fervently. “Can you help me?” He turned his face up to John to display perfect puppy-dog eyes, and John practically melted. Alex held out his arms, a sweet smile on his face, and John lifted him up into his seat with a grunt.

“Damn, those boots are big,” he frowned. “You’re like, fifty pounds heavier with them on.”

“And that’s minus the weight of my hand, too,” Alex pointed out, and John snickered before he could stop himself. Alex didn’t seem too put out, though, so John figured it was okay. They hadn’t talked much about Alex’s hand, but he wasn’t too upset about the loss anymore. He had a prosthetic, and since he’d lost his non-dominant hand, it wasn’t affecting his life too drastically so far. 

“Where’s Angie?” Peggy asked curiously, shaking John out of his thoughts. “Did you guys lose her in the hospital?”

“Just her heart,” Laf rolled his eyes. “She saw Dr. Bartow, and then they got to talking.” Peggy groaned, and Eliza exchanged an amused look with Alex. During the last couple of weeks, Angelica had fallen head over killer heels for Dr. Bartow, and her friends were fairly sure the feelings were mutual. When the two of them ‘got to talking’, they practically had to drag Angelica away from the doctor to get her attention.

“Come on, I want to go home already!” Peggy complained. “We came to bust Alex out of the hospital, not to stay here longer.” 

“You really want to try getting Angie to stop talking to her?” Laf frowned. “Last time I tried to interrupt one of their conversations, Angie threatened my life.” 

“I doubt she was serious,” Eliza said with a small smile. “Besides, I know an easy way to get Angie’s attention.” Laf raised a curious eyebrow, and Eliza took a deep breath before raising her voice. “Peggy, you’ll tear your stitches!” She cried, making her voice shake a little. John turned towards the hospital doors, just in time to see Angelica slam through them. Dr. Bartow followed at a more sedate pace, her face a mixture of amusement and worry.

“What happened?” She cried, pulling Peggy into her arms and scanning her younger sister for injuries. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to be here anymore,” Peggy smirked. “Thanks, ‘Liza.” The sisters high-fived, slipping into the car behind Alex. Angelica looked between them for a moment incredulously.

“You made me think Peggy could be hurt, just to get me out here?” Angelica asked. 

“Basically,” Eliza nodded, pushing the balloons out of her face. “Can we take Alex home now?” Angelica scoffed, but nodded. She turned to wave at Dr. Bartow, who smiled back and made a “call me” motion with her hand. Angelica’s cheeks were noticeably darker when she turned back around, to John’s delight. The woman needed some romance in her life.

Alex apparently agreed, as he brought up the budding relationship five minutes into the trip home. “So, what’s up with you and the doc?” He asked Angelica. She jerked the wheel in shock and nearly swerved into the other lane, causing the majority of her passengers to shriek in surprise. 

“Sorry!” Angelica cried, readjusting her grip on the wheel as Alex twisted around in his seat to check on everyone. Laf and Eliza had claimed the seats on either side of Peggy, forcing John into the far back with Alex’s crutches and an assault rifle. “Everyone okay?” They all nodded, and John refrained from mentioning the crutch-handle-shaped bruise that he was fairly sure was already forming. He wouldn’t put it past Alex to use that as an excuse to not use the crutches.

“Don’t avoid the question, Ang,” John called instead. “What’s up with you and Dr. Bartow?” She glared at him in the rearview mirror, and he stuck his tongue out in response. Alex chuckled, and John shot him a wink.

“We’re good friends,” Angelica said diplomatically, and Peggy let out a quiet ‘booo.’ 

“So, I’ve been thinking about trying to set her up with Abigail,” Eliza chimed in. “Don’t you think they’d make a cute couple?” 

“No,” Angelica replied immediately, and John stifled a snicker in the sudden silence that followed. “I mean, I don’t think Abbie’s really her type,” Angelica backpedaled quickly, her eyes fixed straight ahead. “You know? I just think Th- Dr. Bartow could do better.” John caught Eliza’s gaze in the mirror, her eyes twinkling with suppressed mirth. “Why do you ask, Alex? Did you have a crush on her?” The teasing tone that she normally took with him was a little strained, likely thanks to the fact that she very obviously did not want anyone except herself to have a crush on Dr. Bartow.

“Just curious,” Alex responded, and John could practically hear the eye roll in his voice. “She’s not exactly my type.” Eliza’s phone rang then, and the rest of the car fell into silence as they shamelessly eavesdropped on her conversation with Maria.

“Yes, we have Alex-- no, he’s fine I think,” Eliza covered her phone for a second. “Alex, are you hungry?” He shook his head, and although Laf nodded his head fervently, Eliza ignored him. “No, we’re good.” Laf pouted. “Aw, thank you, I-- babe, I’m in the car with both of my sisters.” John waggled his eyebrows comically at Angelica in the mirror, but she didn’t notice. “Yes, that means you shouldn’t say things like that right n-- oh my god.”

“Ewwww,” Peggy groaned as Eliza blushed. “Save it for when I’m not sitting next to you, I can hear her through the phone!”

“As much as I appreciate it, Peggy’s super-hearing does not,” Eliza informed her girlfriend. “We’ll see you soon, we’re only about ten minutes away from the club-- wait, what? What do you mean why? Because we work there?” She paused, and John frowned. What was going on? “Oh, that’s today?” Eliza asked with a sigh. “Alright, we’ll head over then. No, I’ll be fine, I promise. Okay-- okay. I love you too. See you soon.” She hung up, dropping her phone onto her lap with a sigh. “Angie, the bonfire is today.”

“Shit, I forgot,” Angelica swore. She switched lanes quickly, pulling into a U-turn at the nearest intersection. “We’re maybe twenty minutes from the island, when are they starting?”

“Whenever we get there, according to Maria,” Eliza told her. “They’re building the fire right now, but they won’t start it without us.” Angelica nodded, glancing at the posted speed limit and then proceeding to double it. 

“Wait, what’s the bonfire?” Peggy asked, looking a little lost. “Where are we going?”

“Coney Island, caneton,” Laf informed her. “We’re burning the bastards’ bodies.”

 

Upon arriving at the Coney Island beach, they found all of the Liberty’s Angels employees (plus Jefferson and Madison) assembled in front of a giant stack of wood. The structure, which stood a solid two feet above Jefferson’s head, had little bundles of newspaper interspersed throughout it. The whole thing smelled faintly of gasoline, and a fair bit like incense. 

“I don’t see any bodies,” Alex said in an undertone to John, glancing around in confusion. He was propped up between John and Herc, after they’d discovered the relative uselessness of crutches on sand. 

“They’re in there,” Herc assured him. “You see the newspaper packages?” Alex nodded, and John leaned in closer to hear Herc better. “Their bodies were frozen for a bit, we didn’t want them to rot since you wanted to be here for this. We took them out today and chopped them up, then wrapped them up in newspaper and sprayed it with gasoline. Looks like a firestarter, in case anyone sees us.”

“We added some essential oils to the newspaper, too,” Maria piped up from behind them. She was sitting in the sand, sharing a blanket with Eliza, Anna Strong, and Deborah Samson. “We didn’t want to take the risk of it smelling like burning flesh, although no one should be here but us anyways.” Deborah paled a little at her words, and Anna wrapped a comforting arm around her girlfriend. Deborah nestled into her, and John smiled at the sight. They’d only started dating recently, when they’d both started taking on more office duties, but they were already giving Eliza and Maria a run for their money as the cutest couple in the office.

Of course, John mused as he glanced around, the cutest couple in the club would be a harder superlative to assign. Benny and Usnavi, another recent romance, were cuddled up together trading loving looks and teasing banter. Benny was fiddling with a lighter, presumably waiting for the go-ahead to light the bonfire but for now content to sit on his boyfriend’s lap and stare at him dopily. 

“Alright, everyone!” Angelica called, clapping her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “It’s been a while since we’ve had all of you together, and while the circumstances leading up to this weren’t ideal, I’m glad you’re all here now. We’ve finally got Peggy and Alex out of the hospital, thank goodness--”

“Hear, fucking, hear,” Peggy muttered, and a couple people around her laughed. She’d foisted the balloons off onto Alex, and was now sitting with Jefferson and Madison (“so that there was someone with decent fashion sense nearby. Maybe it’ll rub off on Jefferson, if there’s a god”).

“Eloquently put,” Angelica said fondly. “And now, for something long overdue-- getting rid of these shits.” Everyone cheered at that, and Benny bounced forward like a pyromaniac Golden Retriever to light the bonfire eagerly. Within seconds, flames were licking up the sides of the wood pile, and within a couple of minutes, the bonfire was crackling merrily while sparks popped. 

“That’s a very reassuring sight,” Peggy commented, a small smile on her face. Alex, still propped up by Herc and John, nodded in agreement. 

“It’s nice to see you out of the hospital, Hamilton,” Jefferson greeted him, and John was shocked by how cordial his tone was... Naturally, as this was Thomas Jefferson, his next words completely betrayed that. “I’m guessing you’ll be a little more cautious about getting into cars with strangers now?” While it could have been (and probably was) meant to tease, Alex didn’t take it as such. His face tightened, and Jefferson grimaced. “Too soon?” 

“Too soon,” Alex agreed, his fist tightening as well. He pushed away from John and Herc, but he didn’t manage to take more than one step towards Jefferson before the boots made him overbalance. John darted forward to catch him before he face-planted in the sand, pulling him back and away from Jefferson at the same time. Alex, undaunted by the fact that he couldn’t punch Jefferson, calmly removed his prosthetic hand.

“What are you--” Herc frowned, but his question was answered before he finished asking it. Alex hurled his fake hand at Jefferson, smacking him squarely in the face. He stumbled back a step, Madison moving aside to avoid getting bumped into. Jefferson swore loudly as blood started dripping from his nose, and Madison shook his head ruefully.

“Congratulations,” Angelica told Jefferson sardonically, echoing the sentiment from Alex’s balloons. “You have invented a new kind of stupid. An insult-the-newly-amputated kind of stupid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ta-da!!!! hope you enjoyed!!!  
> disclaimer- i have zero medical knowledge beyond basic first aid training. idk if alex has to be in those medical brace boots for having all of his toes fractured, but the idea of him being trapped in them for a week and being really frustrated is hilarious. so i did it anyways. i also don't know if it's exactly plausible for him to be out of the hospital yet? h a ha oh well  
> anyways! we're super super close to the end now, which is honestly terrifying and also really exciting. you can find us on tumblr @indimitable and @paperthinrevolutionary, and we both recently made instas for our writing too! Krys is @paperthinrevolutionary there too, and im @the_other_51_ao3. let us know what you think pls?  
> see you thursday, (technically it'll be krys but whatever),  
> indi <3


	32. I Could Have Danced All Night

For once, there was calm. It had been so long since they had all felt calm. Two weeks had passed since Alex had been released from the hospital, and everything was getting back to normal. The gang had taken a break from work at Liberty’s Angels, leaving Benny and Usnavi in charge of operations for a few days while Peggy and Alex continued to heal. 

Currently, they were all curled up in Central Park; Herc and Laf cuddled together, Maria with Eliza on her lap, John and Alex sitting just a little closer than they usually would, Alex fiddling with his prosthetic, and a special guest along for lunch. Angelica was side by side with Dr. Bartow. The two hadn’t made anything official, hadn’t even broached the topic of dating as far as Maria was aware, but it was nice to have the other woman along, to see Angelica smile this much. 

It had been months, maybe even years since the group had collectively been this relaxed. Everyone was living it up, making the best of the sunny day, the sweet breeze and the warmth. Maria leaned against Eliza, reached into the picnic basket between them all and grabbed a soda, twisted the cap off before taking a sip. Eliza stole it from her almost immediately after. 

“You thief.” Maria feigned shock. 

“You love me.” Eliza quipped back. 

“You’re lucky I do.” 

“You’re lucky I love you back.” She shot easily and grinned.

“Stalemate.” Maria huffed, but she was still clearly just playing. 

Now that everything was calm again, they could do that. Just relax. Play. It was amazing. Despite everything, even Alex and John were smiling bright, pressed close to one another. 

It was perfect. 

The afternoon carried on as such, everyone staying close, drinking the wine they had brought along when the sun started to set. After a glass, they had to say goodbye to Dr. Bartow, but even in her absence, Angelica was still glowing. Maria jumped in that opportunity, carefully took Angelica aside. “Can I ask you something?” She asked softly, bit her lip. 

Angelica raised a brow, skeptical of whatever this could be, but she just nodded. “Is something wrong?” 

“No, god, not at all. Everything is perfect. I just… Now that things have simmered down, I had something important to ask you.” She fiddled with her fingers, bit her lip just a bit. When she looked up at Angelica, she knew the woman knew exactly what she was going to ask. 

Angelica raised a brow and nodded. “Alright. Just… I know what you’re going to say.” 

She blinked a little and bit his lip. Oh. 

“You can.” She nodded and smiled just slightly.

Maria smiled bright, nodded quickly and wrapped tight around Angelica. “Thank you so much.” She whispered softly, squeezed her once before she pulled back, going to rejoin the others. She got a suspicious look from John and Alex, Hercules and Lafayette were too involved in themselves to really focus on anything but one another, and Peggy was dozing off in the sunshine. So, Maria took the opportunity she was given, crouched beside Eliza and smiled. 

“Hey, can we talk?”

“Yeah, of course.” Eliza smiled, offered her hand to Maria after she stood. They wandered off, Maria throwing a wink back towards John. When they were alone, sun setting behind Eliza, Maria could feel her heart racing. She was really going to do it… 

“Is everything okay?” Eliza knit her brow, bit her lip. Maria snapped back out of her own thoughts, shoved her hands in her pockets. 

“Yeah, yea. Absolutely. I’ve just been thinking, and… Everything was so crazy for a while, and you just.. You saved my ass, you did so much… And you just.. Stayed with me the whole time. It means so much.” She smiled sweetly, bit her lip a little and worried it between her teeth. 

Eliza leaned forward and kissed her softly. “Take a breath, it’s okay. You don’t need to worry about whatever this is, though, you know that.” She reached up, cupped Maria’s cheek and leaned forward to rest their foreheads together. 

“Yeah, yeah, of course, I just… I don’t really know how to say it. You’ve just been here for me through so much, you did so much for me, I… I love you so much, I just… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Eliza.” She pulled back enough to look her in the eye, noticing the newfound sparkle in Eliza’s. 

“Are you….”

She didn’t even need to finish the question. She was met with a small velvet box, and a hopeful smile from Maria. She gasped lightly, eyes blowing wide as she looked at her girlfriend, watched her open the little box to reveal the small ring, a princess cut gem resting on the silver band. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth, and Maria saw her eyes well up with tears. 

“I wanted to ask you somewhere else, make a bigger date out of it, but… This just feels right.” She said softly, bit her lip and dropped to one knee. She held the box out and up to Eliza, gave a hopeful smile. “Eliza Schuyler, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” 

Eliza fell to her knees as well, wrapped around her tight and kissed all over her face, neck, shoulders… Wherever she could, really, and held her tight. “God, yes, yes, _of course_ , Maria!” She squeaked, tears starting to spill down over her cheeks as she pulled the other closer. Maria laughed, giddy, and kissed her over and over. “I love you so much.” Eliza whispered against her lips, fingers going up to tangle into Maria’s hair. 

Maria kissed her over and over, finally slipping the ring onto her finger with somewhat shaky hands. The two of them finally got back to their feet, pressed close together as they walked back to the group. 

Lafayette was about to make a comment when Alex looked up, smirked a little and hummed. “You two took an awful long time just to share lipstick,” He commented and tapped his own lips. John smacked him softly, shushed him. Laf tossed a chip at him before turning back to the girls, cocking his head curiously. That prompted Maria to squeeze Eliza’s right hand as she held out the left, revealing the shiny new ring to them all. 

Everyone was on their feet, gathered around them and holding them, cheering and grinning, kissing their cheeks. Even Angelica was smiling, wrapped around both of them when she was given the chance. She barely got out before Peggy launched herself onto the middle Schuyler, was caught and spun around by Maria. 

“Welcome to the family!” She chirped, grinned brightly and squeezed both of Maria’s hands. 

Maria laughed, leaned back against Eliza, who wrapped her arms around the shorter girl’s waist and kissed her cheeks over and over.

After all the chaos, after all the trouble, they were finally happy. Everyone they loved was alive and safe, their operation was safe again… Maria was finally engaged to the love of her life, and she had never been so happy before in her life.

Everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the story is almost complete <3 We only have the epilogue remaining. Now, we aren't doing the epilogue in a conventional way, so expect us to post that in about a week or so <3 Sorry for the delay on my post, it was the last day of my midterms today, and I finally have some time to breathe. A week of downtime (sort of). 
> 
> Thank you guys for sticking with us though this, it's been so nice getting your feedback for everything, and we love all the support so much. Thank you! 
> 
> Until next time, coming at you with the epilogue,,,   
> -krys


	33. One Day More -Epilogue, Part One-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part one of the Epilogue, setting the framework for the future of Liberty's Angels

****

-ONE DAY-

It was the morning after Maria and Eliza had gotten engaged, and after the fun day of relaxation and joy, the team was back in the office. “Back to the grind,” Alex had joked, while bent over the bar watching Usnavi grind up the beans for his coffee. John, who had been trying to pretend he wasn’t staring at Alex’s ass, had groaned half-heartedly at the joke with the rest of them-- but Herc suspected that he was secretly glad to be back. Although their business was in no way normal, the office did provide a sense of familiarity and routine that they all enjoyed.

Take today, for example. Now that they’d completely dismantled Andre’s operations, Liberty’s Angels was back and running more smoothly than ever. No one was trying to disrupt them, and everyone was happy where they were. Just the way it should be. 

Angelica was in her office, currently on a conference call with Adrienne de Noailles and Nina Rosario while they planned a West Coast expansion. Eliza was quizzing Peggy on the club’s security protocols, while Maria watched proudly from behind a stack of paperwork. John was out in the field today, overseeing the delivery of some new weapons, and Alex was in the security offices to listen in on the comms and make sure it went well. Herc was in his studio, re-designing and replacing some of the bulletproof garments with better ones. And Laf was... Well, he was texting Herc every couple of minutes, but Herc wasn’t actually sure where the Frenchman was.

_What are you doing tonight, mon ami?_. Laf’s latest text sent tingles racing through Herc... although on second thought, that could also be the safety pin he'd just stabbed himself with. Wincing, he set down the jacket he was working on to respond. _Probably bingeing that new Netflix show, why?_ There was a part of him that wanted to reply with “you?”, but that was probably a little too forward. They hadn't even had their first date yet, although hopefully that would change tonight. 

Herc could see that Laf had read the text nearly as soon as it was delivered, and the three little bubbles popped up to let him know that Laf was writing back. Unfortunately, they disappeared as quickly as they'd popped up, and Herc turned his screen off in disappointment as he went back to the jacket.

He couldn't keep his mind off Laf, though. As he sewed, his thoughts kept drifting back to those three dots. What had he been typing? Maybe he'd wanted to go see a movie, he’d been talking about the new Beauty and the Beast with Eliza the other day. Or maybe he was going to ask Herc to help him on a mission, or to...

“I was hoping you'd let me give you these,” Laf spoke up suddenly from the doorway of Herc’s studio. Herc swore as he stabbed himself again, sucking on his now-bleeding finger as he tried not to gape at Laf.

The noble title that Laf so easily dismissed had never been more fitting. He wore a flowy, navy blue blouse with pressed slacks, and he was holding out a bouquet of red roses. Laf looked like the fairytale prince that Herc had always imagined, and he suddenly felt very out of place in his jeans and apron.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Laf winced. “Are you okay?” He stepped into the studio, neatly avoiding the swatches of fabric littering the floor. He set the roses down and pulled Herc’s hand towards himself, holding it in both of his.

“I’ll be fine,” Herc brushed it off, but he didn’t pull his hand away. Laf’s hands were strong and warm and calloused, and they felt so right wrapped around his. “Did you really bring me roses?”

“Of course,” Laf smiled, glancing at them and then looking back to Herc. “That is what people do before a date, is it not?”

“Typically, people also tell the other person before the date, so they can get ready,” Herc pointed out teasingly. “I’d love to go out tonight, though. You promised me dinner, monsieur.” He was sure his accent was terrible, but Laf lit up at the butchered French anyways.

“Don’t worry, I intend to make well on that promise,” Laf released Herc’s hand to give him the roses, and Herc missed the physical contact immediately. “And none of this nonsense about needing to get ready. You look gorgeous in everything, mon cher.” Herc hid his flushed cheeks in the roses, reveling in their sweet scent.

“I can wrap this up, if you’re okay to wait a couple minutes?” Herc checked. Laf nodded, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before perching on the desk while Herc cleaned up. “So, where are you taking me?” Herc asked conversationally as he put away Maria’s new bra (he’d managed to line it with Kevlar, a feat he was extremely proud of).

 

“It’s a surprise,” Laf smirked as Herc finished. Laf quickly pulled him towards the door, barely giving him time to untie his apron. “Come on, I want to show you!” Herc chuckled as he let the other man pull him along, through the offices and out the back door of Libertys’ Angels. They cut through the back alleys, Laf apparently having plotted this part out as they ended up right in front of a small, cozy-looking cafe. Laf gestured with a wide grin, like he was revealing all the universe’s secrets (with the way the streetlight made his eyes shine, Herc thought they might all be hidden in his smile). “The best sandwiches in the world, according to Maria.”

The best sandwich in the world, as Herc found out later that night, was actually comprised of him in between Laf and his bed. But the cafe was pretty good too.

 

****

-ONE MONTH-

“Steady, caneton. _Steady_.” Laf murmured from the sidelines, bit his lip as he watched the girl gain, lose, and regain her footing. His fists were clenched in anticipation as she weaseled her way through the course he had built, into the confined spaces and slinking along in the dark corners. She wasn’t showing a single sign of pain, and he did everything in his power to make sure that she was completely healed before he caved into her incessant pestering about getting back out into the field.

He watched her progress closely, and he finally gave in when she was all but doing handstands in her bedroom to prove to him that she could hold her own again. He was still wary to let her out into the field, but she could at least go out and train, go stretch her legs and abilities that she so feared had dwindled away when she was ill. 

Laf had barely left her side without her forcefully removing him from the room that whole time, so this was a much needed break for her as well, finally showing to her mentor that she was, in fact, going to be okay. That she was strong, and that she could still fight. 

Needless to say, the man was beaming with pride, so happy that she was doing well, and that he was able to watch the recovery. As she took her spot at the end of the course, right in front of him, he wrapped tightly around her, buried his nose in her hair and smiled bright. 

“You’re back to normal. Stronger than ever. Caneton, I am so proud of you…” He cooed. 

Peggy was tempted to pretend she was “too cool” for the affection, but instead she leaned in, hid her face against his neck and held him tight. She missed actually being able to hug him back. And it didn’t even hurt her anymore, thank god. “All thanks to you, Laf.” She said softly, voice muffled by their close proximity. 

Laf would swear that he didn’t tear up a bit, and he would have been lying like a fallen tree after a windstorm. He squeezed her tighter, smiled stupidly. “It’s so good to have you healthy again.”

His duckling was ready to fly once more. 

 

****

-SIX MONTHS-

“You haven’t even technically met him!” Angelica screamed, hurling a pillow. Beside her, Eliza was listing off reasons that teenagers knew nothing about love (so far, her main point was that she’d dated Alex in high school). Peggy rolled her eyes.

“You guys, it’s just Ariel,” she reminded them. “The main character is a mermaid princess, it’s not exactly supposed to be realistic.”

“Are you saying mermaid princesses can’t be realistic?” Eliza frowned. “I’m going to be one when I grow up, you know.” The younger sisters shared a look for a moment, before busting out into laughter.

“Still, they can’t have her go marry someone she’s seen once,” Angelica grumbled. “Little girls watch these movies! What are they supposed to think when they see 16-year-olds trying to marry people they’ve never met?”

“That mermaids are cool?” Peggy suggested. “That girls can do whatever they want?”

“You make it sound like a lesbian movie,” Eliza snickered. She paused. “Oooh, lesbian mermaids!”

“Lesbians are nice,” Angelica agreed dreamily. Peggy glanced over to find the oldest Schuyler on her phone, almost certainly texting Theo. The doctor had asked Angelica out this morning, and with the exception of her Disney-hating grumbles earlier, she’d been in a state of bliss all day. On her lunch break, she’d spent ten minutes repeating “Theo’s my girlfriend!” to Peggy in various high-pitched tones.

“Speaking of lesbians, I forget to tell you my news!” Peggy realized. Her sisters eyed her expectantly, all three of them ignoring the singing fish on the TV screen. “I got a cute girl’s number today,” she said proudly.

“I’m so proud of you!” Eliza squealed. “Who was it? When did it happen? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” The last question was echoed by Angelica, who frowned at Peggy a little accusingly.

“The hot girl who works at Ben and Jerry’s, on my way home, and because you kept talking about work so I didn’t get a chance to,” Peggy answered, popping a potato chip into her mouth.

“The one with the purple hair?” Angelica grinned. “She is cute.”

“Did you expect something other than work talk from Angie though?” Eliza asked, raising an eyebrow. “You finally agreed to be her right hand woman. I’m surprised she stopped talking about it long enough to gripe about the stupidity of Ariel.”

“Me too, honestly,” Angelica shrugged. She opened her mouth again, and Eliza groaned loudly, cutting her off. “I wasn’t going to talk about work!” Angelica promised. “I just wanted to ask if we could watch Mulan after this.”

 

****

-EIGHT MONTHS-

There were certain technological advancements Alex wasn’t even aware possible in this world, and the best one he had seen thus far was resting on his wrist, held in place by a tight contraption and wired to his skin in some way he didn’t even think about as they were doing it.

“Okay, now try to move it.” 

He stared at the doctor, almost stupidly, and earned a soft chuckle. 

“Just like you would move your other hand, Mr. Hamilton.” The doctor said, her voice soft and sweet like a summer song. 

“Go on, Alex,” John urged beside him, squeezed his shoulder. “Give it a try.” 

Alex sucked in a breath and nodded, reached back with his natural hand and squeezed John’s on his shoulder. Staring at the bionics was certainly odd, something he never thought he would experience in his lifetime, but he was assured that once he got the hang of it, it would be no different than flesh and blood. 

_Just like your other hand,_ he thought to himself, watched them closely as he urged them to--

“They moved!” He squealed, gasping and bouncing in his seat. 

Sure enough, the cybernetic fingers were wriggling slowly, like those of an infant realizing the control it had over it’s own body. Alex quit focusing so hard, let his instinct take over, and the hand closed on itself into a relaxed fist, then flexed open again. He beamed brightly at John, who’s hand dropped to take hold of the enhanced limb. 

Alex was careful, but he wrapped the fingers around John’s palm, squeezed lightly (thank god) and thanked the doctor obsessively. She handed him a few booklets on how to properly care for the new limb, wished him luck. He nodded vigorously, stood and gestured for John to lead them out. 

~

Once out of the hospital and walking back to John’s apartment for dinner, Alex’s mind was beginning to race again. After everything they had been through, he was finally coming to quite a few realizations all at once. He hesitated, worried his lip between his teeth before he turned to face John. “Can we talk?” He asked lightly, not stopping his stride. 

John did, though, cocked his head a bit. “Of course, what’s up?” 

_Just say it, Hamilton._

“Well… You know, I just.. I really appreciate that you’ve been here with me through everything, you know? You didn’t have to go to all those appointments with me, you didn’t have to help me out as much as you have, so I guess I just.. I wanted to say thank you?”

“You really don’t need to thank me for that, Alex. You’re my best friend, of course I was gonna be there for you..” He said softly, but something about it sounded.. Forced, strained when he had said ‘best friend’. 

That was all Alex needed to kick into the next part of his thought process. 

“Actually, yeah, I do,” He stepped in front of John to face him better, pulled him to the side of the pathway so they didn’t impede upon foot traffic. “I do need to thank you, and I… Okay. This is going to sound stupid, I’m sure, but I need to get it off my chest.” 

Deep breath in. 

Hesitant pause. 

Slow breath out.

He was ready. 

“After everything you’ve done for me, everything we’ve been through… All the trouble I caused you, I just… I need to say it. John, I...” Finally looked into his eyes again. “I love you. And I’m tired of dancing around this. I should have said it earlier, but after everything with… _Them_ , I just haven’t been able to bring myself to say it. But... I love you, John. Until all of this, I hardly knew the value you had taught my heart to set on you, but I can’t keep it inside anymore. I needed you to know.” He finally stopped, examined John’s posture, hesitated when he saw the man just staring at him in a bit of a haze. “John…?”

No more hesitations, though. Before Alex could do anything more, carry on and apologize for going off like that, beg forgiveness, whatever he may have thought to do, John leaned forward and caught his lips in a delicate kiss. 

Certainly not the response Alex had expected, especially not after the scene he had caused in the library prior to that, but he didn’t hesitate to lean in as well. He was finally ready.

Ready for normalcy, ready to love openly and be loved in return. He could do this. He could get past Andre, settle down and have a happy life with John. 

The next hesitation was actually to pull away from the kiss, but they did break away eventually--not that much, though. Their noses still brushed, and they could barely manage to look one another in the eye without their vision blurring, but they didn’t want to move away. 

“What do you say,” John broke the silence, bit his lip. “We give this a chance. A real one.”

“God, John… I would love that.” Alex laughed a bit breathily, leaned in and caught him in another kiss. 

Their dance had finally ended, this kiss their final bow. Now, things could go back to normal, they could leave their stage hand in hand and finally be happy together. Everything was finally where they wanted it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Indi and I got really _really_ enthusiastic with the epilogues and we decided to split it in two parts, so... More content for you guys! 
> 
> We hope you like what we have, and we can't wait to finish this story for y'all! 
> 
> Much love, until next time,   
> -krys


	34. Reprise- Epilogue, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The future of Liberty's Angels, and its employees.

-ONE YEAR- 

“Sign here, here, and here.” The realtor pointed to the different dotted lines, and Angelica read through the contract one last time before signing. She handed the clipboard back to the realtor, who promptly shoved it into her purse. “Great, it’s officially yours. My office will have a copy of the contract e-mailed to you within two business days, please feel free to contact me with any further questions.” The realtor rattled off her obviously rehearsed spiel in a monotone, before high-tailing it out the door. 

“She’s obviously very passionate about her job,” Angelica rolled her eyes, turning to survey what was now officially her club. A smaller, softer hand slipped into hers, and she turned to beam proudly at Eliza. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s going to be amazing, Angie,” her sister told her. “Cato and Tallmadge called while you were doing the paperwork, they’ll be here soon with Nina. I’m excited for you to finally meet her in person!”

“Me too,” Angelica laughed. “Especially since I’m trusting her with so much of my business.”

“Which, again, is such an honor,” a sweet voice piped up from behind them, and both sisters jumped before turning around. Nina Rosario was standing between Cato and Tallmadge, who were examining the empty space critically. “Sorry,” Nina apologized, holding out her hand. Angelica shook it, noting the strong grip with admiration. When Angelica released Nina’s hand, Eliza promptly dove past her sister to hug her old roommate, squeezing her tightly. “Hey, Liza,” Nina chuckled, addressing Angelica over Eliza’s head. “It’s so good to finally meet face-to-face, Skype really doesn’t do you justice. How’ve you been doing?”

“Good, and much better now that I’m in the California sunshine,” Angelica grinned. “I finally see why Eliza loved Stanford so much.”

“It’s a great state,” Nina agreed, Eliza finally letting go of her. “But nothing quite like New York, of course. I’m so glad Benny and Usnavi are doing well with the original Liberty’s Angels, they told me about the recent raises! I only hope I can do as well with the new club.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Angelica reassured her. “Tallmadge was my head of security, so he’ll fill that position for you, but he’s also very familiar with running operations. Cato is kind of our jack-of-all-trades, but he mostly does field work, and... And you know all this, why am I telling you this again?”

“Because you want it to be perfect,” Eliza put in. “Nina, can I borrow my sister for a sec?” Nina nodded, and Eliza pulled Angelica into (what she was pretty sure would become) the bar’s storage room. “Angie, what’s going on?” Eliza asked, her face solemn. “It almost seems like you’re doubting her.”

“If anything, I’m doubting myself,” Angelica sighed. “It’s just a lot to trust her with, you know? She’ll be half the country away, running the second club pretty much by herself. I had George helping me when I started.”

“And she has you,” Eliza pointed out. 

“I know...” Angelica trailed off. “Are you sure she can handle this?”

“Yeah, of course she can. She’s the smartest girl I know, at least outside of our family.”

“This is a lot, though.”

“Her dad was an entrepreneur, she grew up basically inside of her family business. Nina can handle what we do, every part of it. She knows what she’s doing.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m just...”

“I know. We’re going to be fine, though. You’re going to be fine, Angie.”

“Thank you.”

They rejoined the others, Angelica’s spirits noticeably higher. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I just needed a bit of a pep talk.”

“No worries,” Nina smiled brightly. “Eliza’s pep talks are pretty spectacular, after all. She’s a huge part of the reason I didn’t drop out.”

“You just needed motivation, and I happened to be the closest thing,” Eliza shrugged off the praise easily. “You were the one who chose to stay.”

“Ugh, you’re too modest,” Nina grumbled. “I’m telling you, my college experience would not have been the same without your sister. She once pulled two all-nighters in a row to help me study for an exam, and when the exam got canceled, she yelled at the professor until he gave me the test anyways.”

“Seriously?” Cato snorted. “Who asks someone for a test?”

“Someone who hadn’t slept for 48 hours and had learned an entire semester’s worth of organic chemistry overnight,” Nina pointed at Eliza. “She hadn’t taken the class before, but I was really close to failing it, so she did the whole class during the first all-nighter and taught it to me the second.”

“That’s Eliza for you,” Angelica shook her head. “In high school, she learned ASL so that she could practice Spanish.”

“Wait, what?” Nina frowned. “How does that work?”

“Her Spanish class had vocab tests twice a week,” Angelica explained. “You had to be able to spell the words, so she learned the alphabet in ASL. She’d fingerspell the words over and over until she had it memorized, and then she’d just do that in class. Somehow, that turned into her just learning ASL on her own- while taking Spanish at the same time. She’s fluent in both now, of course.”

“Please tell me more about high school Eliza,” Nina chuckled. “Let me guess, she was in the National Honor Society?”

“In it? She was the president,” Angelica rolled her eyes. “She held monthly meetings, where she’d take over our living room for three hours so they could talk about who had the highest GPA.” Nina grinned, tugging Angelica over to sit on the barstools and swap stories about Eliza. Somehow, Angelica already felt more comfortable leaving the second Liberty’s Angels with Nina. 

 

-TWO YEARS-

“Do we have to tell them right now?” James sighed, reluctantly letting Thomas tug him along. “It might be nice to actually have a ring first.”

“Please?” Thomas didn't stop moving, even as he turned pleading puppy-dog eyes onto James. “I just want to be able to show off my handsome fiancé, is that such a crime?”

“Or maybe you just want to be able to rub me in Hamilton’s face?” James raised an eyebrow. “Show off how much better at life you are?”

“Well, why can't it be both?” Thomas smirked. “After all, I am better at life than him.” He reached around James and pulled the door to the club open, and James pressed a kiss to his cheek in thanks. “C’mon! It'll be fun, you know how much I love bragging to Hamilton.” 

James rolled his eyes, but followed Thomas without trying to argue the point further. He couldn’t deny him anything, especially not when he smiled like that.

They cut through the club quickly, avoiding the customers as they headed towards the back. They nearly bumped into Maria, who was walking the same way with her head in the clouds and a gigantic smile on her face. 

“What’s got you so happy?” James asked her as he and Thomas followed her towards the back offices.

“It’s nearly my two-year wedding anniversary with Eliza,” Maria replied, unlocking the door and holding it open for them. “I could ask you two the same, though. You look like you’re about to explode, Jefferson.”

“You’ll see,” Thomas grinned, dropping a kiss on the top of James’ head. “It’s why we’re here, actually. We wanted to tell all of you our news at once.”

“You picked a good day, I think just about everyone’s in the office today,” Maria commented. She led them through the maze of offices until they finally arrived in the large space that housed the core team’s desks. Laurens and Lafayette were engaged in an arm-wrestling match in the middle of the floor, with various employees of Liberty’s Angels cheering them on from around the room. It looked like all three Schuyler sisters were cheering for Lafayette, as well as Mulligan, while Laurens was stuck with Hamilton and the other leftovers.

“Are they... Drunk?” James frowned. It was only 3 pm!

“We pulled off a really successful heist this morning,” Maria informed them. “We’re celebrating, although it looks like they started without me.”

“We’ve only had a beer or two each,” Eliza promised her wife, taking her hand as she greeted Thomas and James. Behind her, Theodosia Bartow let out a loud whoop and pounded on the table as Lafayette’s arm started to lean towards the ground. James jumped at the sudden sound, and Thomas squeezed his hand.

“She gets rowdy after about half a beer,” Angelica smiled apologetically at them, extricating herself from Peggy as she made her way over. “I wasn’t expecting you two, did I miss something?” 

“We had some news to share, and figured this was the easiest way to tell most of our friends at once,” James told Angelica. Thomas grimaced at the word “friends,” and James was sure he was glaring at Hamilton, but he didn’t say anything. Angelica nodded, glancing between the two of them speculatively before turning back to her employees. 

“Alright, you two are done,” she announced. Peggy booed loudly, clutching a bottle of lemonade, but Angelica waved her off. “Quiet down, James and Thomas have something to tell us.”

“Madison, are you finally leaving him?” Hamilton called out, his arm wrapped around Laurens and an obscenely smug smile on his lips. “I knew you’d come to your senses eventually!”

“Not quite,” Thomas smirked. “The complete opposite, in fact. James has agreed to marry me!” There was a beat of silence, and then several people reacted at once.

“Where’s the ring?” 

“Madison, blink twice if you need help.” 

“Congratulations! Can I be your flowergirl?” 

“Does this mean we can have more booze?”

“We’re shopping for the perfect ring tomorrow, Ang,” Thomas answered. “Hamilton, kindly piss the fuck off. Yes, Mulligan, and Laurens, are you sure you need more?”

-THREE YEARS- 

“You think we’re ready?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I do.” 

“You sure?” 

“We finally settled down, I don’t see why not.”

“Are _we_ ready, though?” 

“Yeah, definitely. Are you?” 

“Yeah. Just needed reassurance.” 

Eliza chuckled softly and squeezed Maria’s hand. “And you’re sure you want it to be you?” 

“I think so. I.. Yeah. Yeah, I do. I think I can do this.”

“If you’re sure.” Eliza kissed the back of Maria’s hand, nosed at it a bit. “We could do it together.”

“God, we can’t handle two.” She laughed a bit, finally raising her other hand to knock at the apartment door. They could hear rustling inside, and soon they were met with the bright smile of one Hercules Mulligan. 

“Ladies, what a surprise.” He smiled, ushered them both inside and tried not to get too distracted by their nervous demeanor. “Everything okay?” 

“Yeah, yes. Of course. How have you and Laf been?” Eliza smiled, gently nudged Maria until she entered the room, sat on the overly plush sofa that she was _certain_ to be a purchase of Lafayette. There was no way Hercules would choose such an over-the-top fabric, anyhow. Maria trailed her fingers over the fabric, noting that it was at least soft, which was definitely why Herc tolerated it. 

“We’ve been good. Everything is nice, we’re settled in well, I… I think I might ask Laf to marry me soon.” He chuckled, a little nervous. 

“Oh! That’s amazing, Herc!” Eliza chirped sweetly, and Maria nodded her agreement.

“He’s going to be so excited when you ask… I.. Kind of feel bad bringing it up now,” She said softly and leaned into Eliza’s side. 

“Bringing _what_ up?” Herc questioned, leaned closer and smiled. “Whatever it is, it’s alright.” He assured. 

Laf sauntered in just about then, plush robe hugging his slender frame. He draped himself over Herc’s lap, smiled a bit. “Oui, bring what up?” 

The girls both laughed, rolled their eyes nearly in unison. Laf looked like an oversized kitten the way he had propped himself onto Hercules. The couple looked so happy, and it was so brilliant to see them in such a state. Eliza gently nudged Maria’s side, smiled brightly and kissed her cheek. “Well, go on.” She whispered against her ear. 

Maria sucked in a deep breath and nodded, laced her fingers with Eliza’s and squeezed. “Okay, well.. Betsey and I have thinking, and…” She looked up at Lafayette, gave a small and hopeful smile. “We think we’re ready to start a family.”

“Girls! _C’est magnifique_!” He cheered, clapped his hands and bounced in Hercules’ lap. 

“We were hoping you would think that,” Eliza smiled, put a comforting hand on the small of Maria’s back. “Because…” 

“Laf, we… We would like for you to be the surrogate father.” Maria finished, forcing herself to keep her eyes on Laf despite how nervous this whole situation was making her. 

Lafayette gasped, eyes bright, and he launched out of Hercules’ lap, nearly onto Maria when he wrapped around her. “Sweet girl, I am so honored that you would ask!” He cooed loudly and rubbed their noses together. “I would be honored, if it is okay with Hercules?” 

Herc laughed and nodded. “Of course. As long as you make me one of the god-parents.” He teased, got up to sit on the other side of Maria and wrap his arms around both of the women, pull them close and kiss each of their cheeks. 

Maria was glowing, absolutely ecstatic, and with the confirmation she quickly started to babble on and on about all the plans, who would take care of what, and how excited she was. 

Their family was growing day by day, and now, after all this time, they would finally be parents. 

Everything was perfect. 

 

-SIX YEARS- 

“Mira! Nina!” The voice was tinny coming out of Eliza’s Macbook, but it was unmistakably that of Usnavi. The girl jumped to her feet and rushed over to the table, grinning brightly. 

“Navi, Benny, holy _shit_ it’s been ages! How are you both!” Nina was beyond excited to see two of her oldest friends again, and after hearing her shout, another woman joined her side, took her hand and laced their fingers together. 

“ _Vanessa?_ ” Benny chimed in, incredulous. “The two of you?” 

Vanessa’s lips curled into a grin and she nodded, bumping her hips with Nina’s. “Absolutely, Mr. Limousine. And you with Navi, huh?” 

“Who could resist?” Benny laughed, to which Vanessa shot back “Me, duh?” And earned a laugh from the group. Once it died down, Benny cleared his throat again and looked to Nina, who was positively glowing. “We’re really sorry we couldn’t make it. Someone needed to stay back and watch the original. We’ll try and take a weekend trip to visit and check out the new club?”

“And I could teach you those mixed drinks you always bothered me to, Vanessa. You know, a little bit of cinnamon?” Usnavi quipped. 

Vanessa would have smacked his shoulder were they together, but she settled for shushing him. The couples shared quick goodbyes and grinned, waving excitedly to one another as the call came to an end, and the girls went back to the party. 

Angelica was a few drinks in, surprisingly loose and relaxed, and unsurprisingly had Theodosia Bartow attached at her hip, trading sips of their daiquiris (strawberry-mango and peach respectively). Eliza was perched atop Maria’s lap, fretting just a little on the phone, making sure their twins, Georges and Little Angie, were ready for bed, and that they weren’t giving Papa George too much trouble. The time difference was definitely messing with them, but they were enjoying the time there nonetheless. 

For some reason, Peggy and Lafayette had taken places atop the bar, singing loudly and dancing along to the terrible nineties pop that, for some reason, Alex had decided was a good idea to play. John was at his side, giggling and wrapped around his arm, goading him into playing more N*Sync and Backstreet Boys, much to the chagrin of Hercules. A least they were having fun. 

A quick glance around the bar showed Cato by the door, head bobbing and foot bouncing in time with the music, and Tallmadge doing the same in his spot behind the bar. 

What had started as a nervous venture on Angelica’s part seven years ago had expanded to one of the most popular nightclubs in West Hollywood, and the best front for their true operations that the Schuyler sisters could have dreamed of. Angelica hadn’t been this relaxed since childhood, Eliza was sure, and to see her having this much fun absolutely warmed her heart. It was almost innocent, almost how it had been before all of this started. 

Nina made her way back over to the bar, ordered cocktails for herself and Vanessa, and let her eyes wander around her club. 

This certainly wasn’t what she expected to do with a business degree, but who was she to complain? She was making quite a bit of money, she was doing well for herself. She and her partner worked together, had recently moved in together, and they watched their club and their tycoon over Southern California expand into something almost otherworldly. Nothing that they ever expected they could be capable of. 

Especially when, around the third year of operation, Angelica had stopped micromanaging from Manhattan, relinquished 99% control to Nina and Vanessa. Even Eliza was shocked at the level of trust displayed, the level of trust even members of the family rarely got. It was good to see the eldest Schuyler relinquish control of something, a little less pressure on her shoulders. 

Finally, Angelica cleared her throat and ushered everyone closer, pulled Nina to her side. “Everyone! Today, we’re here to celebrate something that’s… Pretty fucking cool.” She gave a bit of a drunken giggle, and Nina braced herself to provide more physical support to her. “Today, we’re celebrating Liberty’s Angels California’s fifth birthday!” 

The group whooped and hollered, clapping and raising their glasses in loud cheers. When the cheering died down, Angelica started to speak again, grinning sweetly at Nina. “Our girl here, our honorary Schuyler sister, has been doing an amazing job. Five years in this crazy town--”

“Five years of your micromanagement from New York!” Peggy interrupted, then giggled and squished herself between Lafayette and Hercules. 

Angelica gave an undignified snort of laughter, a bit of her drink sloshing and nearly spilling to the floor. “Shush. Enough of that. Don’t rat me out, Pegs.” The group laughed as well before Angelica continued her speech. “Five years of chaos, underground ops, and some shit none of us want to think about. But she’s stayed strong, and, I mean, come on. They’re the most successful gay club in West Hollywood on top of all of our baggage! That’s _pretty fucking cool_ if I do say so myself! Give it up for the woman of honor, the irreplaceable Nina Rosario!”

Again, friends and family hollered their congratulations, clapped loudly and whistled, until a beer was raised in the air, and John’s voice rang through the building. 

“Raise a glass!”

~END~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow holy fuck I am literally tearing up as I write this! we have come So Far with this, and I cannot believe it has come to an end.  
> thank you so so so much to everyone who has read this, and a super special thank you to everyone who has left us kudos or comments! they mean so much to us (and a couple of you have even found our writing accounts on instagram and talked to us there! thank you)! we love our readers so much, and we're so glad that you love our story.  
> we will almost certainly come back to this universe for side fics (we have a cool fic planned about april fools)! if there's anything you wanna see in one of those, feel free to message us about it  
> lots of love, and thank you for reading,  
> Indi <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This will be updated every Monday and Thursday, with me updating on Thursdays with Angelica, then @paperthinrevolutionary on Mondays with Lafayette, then back to me for John and @paperthinrevolutionary for Maria! (rinse and repeat).


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